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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27624404">Lightbringer</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bard_TheChronicler/pseuds/Bard_TheChronicler'>Bard_TheChronicler</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Overlord - Maruyama Kugane &amp; Related Fandoms</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Action, Action &amp; Romance, Action/Adventure, Adventure, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Eventual Romance, F/M, Fantasy, Friendship, Gen, Multi, Worldbuilding</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-11-19</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-12-18</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-18 05:07:31</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Mature</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>15</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>144,199</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27624404</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bard_TheChronicler/pseuds/Bard_TheChronicler</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>(Cross-posting from FFN) When an YGGDRASIL Angel solo player is thrust into the New World, how will he decide to make his mark? Read on to find out. Takes place several years before the start of canon timeline, and will not follow canon. No Nazarick. Please note that this is a slow read, though later chapters and newer chapters will move the plot faster (as I am learning to speed things up and improve my writing).</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>38</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Cross-posting from FFN. I won't be rewriting or editing older chapters, other than a few potential formatting changes. Don't have the time. But perhaps in the future...</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>He had to remain calm.</p><p>This was surely just a bug, or perhaps a product of his apparently wild imagination. Perhaps he was far more exhausted than he thought and had passed out while playing. This could very well be a dream. Or was this all somehow a surprise update to the game instead of the servers shutting down? Maybe.</p><p>Another possibility, and the thought was tantalizing enough, was that this was actually some last-minute major event the devs decided to pull before truly shutting down the game.</p><p>Whatever this was, it was certainly not quite the YGGDRASIL he was familiar with. The last thing he remembered was standing alone on a balcony in one of the many soaring towers of the Royal Palace of Asgard watching the beautifully-rendered starry night sky as the clock struck midnight. Then, as expected for the planned server shutdowns, everything went black for a few seconds before he inexplicably found himself alone in the middle of some unknown forest, underneath a vastly different night sky.</p><p>He felt a strong sense of unease settle in his gut almost immediately after.</p><p>It wasn't so much because he was alone, since there were barely, if any, players left playing the game as the servers were scheduled to shut down. It was typical these days to not see anyone for hours, especially because of how vast the game was – there were nine whole worlds to play around in. He was also a solo player after all, at least for most of his time in YGGDRASIL, so being alone was the norm.</p><p>And even though he was in the middle of a forest that he couldn't recognize and it was the dead of night, the golden-white glow emanating from his avatar was bright enough to clearly illuminate the area at least twenty feet around him, the light fading further away until it dropped off almost completely at around sixty feet in a radius around him. This was all due to his passive <strong>[</strong>Divine Aura<strong>]</strong> skill that came naturally with his Angel, Archangel, and Seraphim racial classes. So the unease wasn't about the darkness of night either, which in this case wasn't so dark at all in his immediate vicinity.</p><p>No, the unease was caused by something else. It was because this wasn't what he expected to happen when the clock struck midnight. Not only were the servers apparently <em>not</em> shut down, but he had somehow been transported without his consent or knowledge to an unknown location and no matter how many times he attempted to access his player console, <em>nothing happened</em>. The console wouldn't respond, or even appear for that matter. That meant he couldn't log out. He couldn't check for announcements or messages. Neither could he use any methods known to him to get in touch with a Game Master (GM) or any other player for that matter.</p><p>In all the years he had been playing YGGDRASIL, and he had been playing practically since launch day, why did it have to glitch out now at the end of it all?</p><p>Perhaps most troubling, though equally as fascinating, was how drastically the game had changed in the short time since he had been mysteriously transported to these unknown woods. Full-Dive games allowed people to truly immerse themselves within the game world by simulating sight, sound, and even touch to some degree depending on your available equipment, but there was still a very clear separation between what was real and what was digital if you looked or thought hard enough.</p><p>Now though, <em>there seemed to be no difference at all</em>. At least not that he could tell. In fact, the game he was in now was as real as it could possibly get in his opinion, and it baffled him how the developers were able to accomplish this. And why hadn't they rolled this out sooner? Surely the game would have been revived and the servers wouldn't have needed to be shut down if they did as players flocked back to the big daddy of all VRMMORPG Dive games.</p><p>He could actually feel the weight of his armor, how it fit securely and comfortably to his body, and how the fabric of the robes underneath felt against his skin. There was the moisture of his breath as he breathed from within his enclosed helm. The crystal clarity of the foliage that surrounded him and the rustling of leaves. He could hear and even feel the cool breeze that blew across the forest through the minor gaps in his armor and robes, as if he were physically outside and not lying in bed in his room at home with the VR gear attached to his body.</p><p>There was <em>some</em> body weight effect applied by the Dive gear before, and there was some basic haptic feedback available, but never to this level. It truly felt like he was physically present in the game. He took a hard step, feeling the firm ground as his metal boot landed with a solid thud against the earth, flattening the grass and kicking up a little dirt.</p><p>He stared down at his hands, the gauntlets encasing them ornate and glowing a little from his aura. He stretched his arms up a little more in front of his face to get a closer look, and then clenched his fists. The movement, the feeling of the armor against his skin, the tightness of his hands as they balled into fists, it all felt so vividly real. He could even smell the dirt and foliage around him, something unthinkable in a video game. Smell! His heart raced with excitement. The graphics of this YGGDRASIL 2.0 – for what else could it be? – were astonishingly photo-realistic, to the point that there were no longer any tell-tale visual clues that he was in a digitally-created game world.</p><p>There were plenty of major advances in Dive gaming technology in the past decade since it really took off, but nothing had ever come this close to the level of sensory stimulation he was experiencing at that very moment.</p><p><em>How</em>? How did they do this? How could they have achieved such mind-blowing realism in a video game?</p><p>"Amazing..." he whispered. Even as he said that, he felt it was not even close to properly describing the magnitude of this technological leap.</p><p>YGGDRASIL 2.0 was certainly going to skyrocket the game back to the top of the heap among VRMMORPG games, and he was glad. Even more so that he unwittingly seemed to have been selected to beta test it. Surely this was why he was here, right?</p><p>At least he recognized the armor he wore, which meant that he had all the gear he was wearing before the servers were supposed to shut down. Sure enough, his gauntleted hands felt for the two short swords at his hips and the handle of the great sword strapped across his back. Though not being able to access his player console was a big problem because that probably meant he couldn't access his inventory or his skills.</p><p>Or could he? If the<b> [</b>Message<b>] </b>skill worked in this new YGGDRASIL 2.0 or whatever it was they were planning on calling this, then that meant some skills and magic still worked. Then surely his inventory was still intact somehow too? But he had no idea how to access it now that the console was no longer working.</p><p>He thought for a moment, raising a hand to his chin, his armored hand touching the bottom of his helm as he did so.</p><p>He let out a small gasp as the mere <em>thought</em> of his inventory led to a mental imprint of it to suddenly appear in his mind, and he could see clearly all the thousands of items he had stashed there over his many years of playing the game. Almost as if he could reach out and grab one of them...</p><p>... <em>and he did just that</em>. Reaching out and realizing that his hand seemed to go into some strange hole in reality to what he could only describe as a "pocket dimension" where his inventory apparently now resided. His hand clasped the item he had seen in his mind's eye – a random item that he didn't really know <em>why </em>he thought of – and pulled it out of that pocket dimension with little effort. To anyone watching it looked as if he had simply pulled it into existence out of thin air, like some ultimate magician.</p><p>It was a very strange experience for him to say the least.</p><p>He looked down at the Pitcher of Endless Water that he now held in his hands, the clear crystal vessel filled to the brim with the purest water. With great interest, he tipped it over and observed as, true to its name, the pitcher poured out a seemingly endless supply of pure water.</p><p>After a full fascinating minute of this, the ground beneath him now thoroughly soaked and muddy, he stopped and turned the pitcher upright. It was still completely full, as if he hadn't just spent a minute trying to empty its contents out. Checking the now muddy ground at his feet once more, he placed the item back in his now seemingly inter-dimensional inventory and let out a small sigh of relief. It appeared that items still worked correctly as well.</p><p>Now what?</p><p>He could just wait here for the GM's and developers to figure out how to fix the player console, or at least wait for some global server announcement regarding the issue. That wouldn't be the worst idea.</p><p>But... if this was a new game, or even if it was simply the most hyperrealistic dream he had ever conjured up in his life, he didn't really want to just sit around and wait idly for something to happen or for someone to come along. May as well explore a bit and see what he might find in this strange new world. Perhaps there would be other players who had some answers, or if he was lucky he could stumble upon a GM by chance.</p><p>If nothing else, perhaps some of the NPC's in this new world might be able to answer some important questions.</p><p>In the old version of YGGDRASIL, he could control how bright his aura shone to some extent, even able to remove it completely in case he needed to be more stealthy or something. In this case, he figured it would be wise not to draw too much attention to himself in this unknown land, so he wanted to remove the glow for now to avoid any unnecessary fighting. YGGDRASIL was a PvP game after all, and he figured the new 2.0 version was no different.</p><p>But how to do that?</p><p>There used to be a button and a slider menu that allowed him to easily adjust the brightness of the aura. Now, without a console, that was no longer possible.</p><p>He tried to analyze how he might accomplish the task when again, all of a sudden, the very act of thinking about what he wanted to do caused a strange sensation to swell in his mind in a similar fashion to how the image and "feeling" – for lack of a better term – of his inventory appeared, but this time it was a feeling related to his skills and abilities.</p><p>All his skills and magic were simply there, in his mind, waiting to be accessed. He once again couldn't explain how he knew that he could access his magic and skills this way, only that he did know. He realized after further introspection that he could even <em>feel</em> the amount of mana and health that he had, as well as the costs and cooldowns of each of his spells.</p><p>Reacting almost instinctively with this new sensation present in his mind, he took a moment to focus on his <strong>[</strong>Divine Aura<strong>]</strong> and then managed to will the glow to extinguish itself. A second or two later and the area around him was plunged into total darkness.</p><p>"Wow..." he breathed, happy that it had worked, though still totally at a loss as to <em>how</em> it actually worked.</p><p>He was beginning to lean more towards this being a dream than an actual game, since the game mechanics were seemingly light-years ahead of what he was used to seeing. However, his gut was telling him that this wasn't the simple answer to his situation, that there was more to it than simply being a dream.</p><p>Could this be happening for real? Was this really a game world and not a dream?</p><p>His eyes took a brief moment to adjust to the sudden darkness as his passive <strong>[</strong>True Sight<strong>]</strong> skill activated now that there was insufficient light to see clearly. Sure enough, after a handful of seconds he could see as clearly as if it was high noon on a perfect summer day, not the middle of the night like it was now.</p><p>For one last time, he tried to <strong>[</strong>Message<strong>]</strong> a GM, or any of the people on his short friends list. Not that he was able to actually see the list itself, but he knew, kind of like the way he knew with his magic, that by thinking about one of the people on the list while using the spell it would try to reach out to them specifically.</p><p>Although he was somewhat comforted by the fact that using <strong>[</strong>Message<strong>]</strong> allowed him to hear a dial tone beeping sound that meant the communication spell was activating properly, that small comfort was dwarfed by his increasing anxiety over the fact that nobody was responding to it. He didn't expect any of his few in-game friends to respond, knowing that most of them had stopped playing the game ages ago and it was highly unlikely they had stayed until the midnight shutdown like he did, but it was most disconcerting that none of the Game Masters were responding.</p><p>How long was he going to be stuck here? He had work in the morning! And he was really looking forward to heating up some leftover pizza too before heading to bed for some much needed sleep. He had been playing the old YGGDRASIL for hours before the scheduled shutdown and knew that he was probably hungry, even though he didn't feel that way in the game at all right now.</p><p>Shaking his head to focus his mind, he tried to think of what to do next.</p><p>First things first, he needed to survey his surroundings and find where the nearest settlement was. To do that, he figured it would probably be easiest to fly around instead of trudging on foot through some strange, unknown forest. Regardless if he was max level with some of the highest tier equipment available, and even with his more than ample battle experience, he needed to be cautious for now in case there were any PKers nearby.</p><p>There were still too many unknowns in this new game world, and perhaps most importantly he didn't know what the penalties for death were in this new world. Without knowing the revival procedures in this new version of the game, and not having any friends online to resurrect him should the worst happen, it was probably best not to find out the hard way.</p><p>With another brief concentration of thought, massive feathery white wings unfolded from his back, spanning almost 15 feet across from wingtip to wingtip, more than double his own height. The wings glowed briefly with divine energy that lent them a certain regal beauty before the light faded to match his now muted aura and they looked more like regular feathered wings.</p><p>With a mighty flap that pushed the air beneath him with explosive power, he leaped into the air and shot straight up into the night sky like a rocket. The rushing wind was cold across his skin and roaring loudly as it rushed past his ears.</p><p>Flying in the old game was a lot of fun already, but this... <em>this</em> was something else. He couldn't contain himself as his lips parted in a huge, boyish grin. With the novel hyperrealism elements in this new version of the game, flying wasn't only fun, it was absolutely fucking incredible. He relished the feelings of freedom and excitement that flooded through his system – along with a healthy amount of what he felt was adrenaline – as he soared across the night sky, losing himself to the activity for a few minutes as he did loops, barrel rolls, and other aerial tricks.</p><p>All the while, he was whooping and hollering, not that he could really hear himself that well as he moved so quickly the wind drowned out his voice. This was what it felt like to truly fly, to be like a bird or even a dragon moving through the vast expanse of the open sky!</p><p>After a while of enjoying himself with flying, he calmed down enough to gather himself and refocus on the task at hand. He wasn't sure how high he was exactly, but he managed to break through a handful of thin clouds that lazily sauntered through the air. Leaning back and bringing his legs back underneath him, his wings beat powerful as he came to a stop and was floating in the air. He took a moment to admire the beauty of the world that lay far below him at that moment.</p><p>There were snow-capped mountains in the distance, rolling hills, plains, forests, rivers, lakes, and all sorts of varying geography around. All of it was unrecognizable to him. Nothing he saw looked like anything he had seen in the nine worlds of YGGDRASIL, nor in any other media related to the game that he could think of in all the long years he had been playing.</p><p>He was absolutely certain that this was a new world, and he would know having visited all nine worlds that the original YGGDRASIL had to offer. He had spent years of his life scouring most of the faces of each planet, so he knew without a shadow of a doubt that he wasn't on one of those worlds.</p><p>It was strange to think that they would add another world to the original nine, but perhaps this was a lost world now found again? Definitely within the realm of possibility, especially given the new update theory. Still, to add such a massive update at the supposed end of the game without any sort of announcement didn't make much sense. What were the devs thinking?</p><p>Looking up at the night sky that hung overhead, he couldn't help but stare in wonder at the innumerable stars that shone so clear and crisp that he thought they seemed more real than any stars he ever looked upon back home. So beautiful, and so alien. This was a night sky that did not look at all familiar to him, and he loved to stargaze whenever he could because it was for him the most realistic and eye-catching feature of YGGDRASIL.</p><p>He noted that not even the night sky in reality could compare to what he was currently looking at, though part of that was due to the intense light and sometimes air pollution of the real world that he lived in that usually obscured the stars above. Still, to be reminded that YGGDRASIL developers could come up with something like this was a truly a marvel.</p><p>Without a moment's hesitation, he told himself that he would gladly pay any amount of money to continue playing this game once they fixed the major bugs and issues – like logging out. Not that he really wanted to log out anymore. The more he saw of this world, the more he wanted to explore and learn about it.</p><p>He was starting to think that perhaps the player console not being accessible was actually a feature of this new version of the game. Since there was a way around it to access one's inventory and skills, that seemed entirely plausible. But how was one supposed to log out? Since thinking about certain actions seemed to activate them, he tried to <em>think</em> about logging out.</p><p>Nothing. He sighed. It was worth a try.</p><p>With that thought, he remembered the main reason he took to the skies, and he turned his attention once more to the world beneath his feet. He didn't really notice at first glance before while sweeping his gaze across the world, so caught up was he in the breathtaking view that it hadn't really registered until now that there were lights.</p><p>The lights of civilization. Some near, some far, and in varying directions. One of the nearest cluster of lights appeared to be a small village of some kind based on how few and spread out the lights were. Closer inspection even revealed pillars of smoke rising from chimneys poking out of houses made of wood and stone. Judging from the number of lights and the spread, he assumed that it was a small village.</p><p>"Perfect," he whispered to himself. Hopefully he would be able to get some answers there.</p><p>He angled towards the village and flew at it with great speed, gradually descending as he did so. With a mighty flap of his powerful wings that emitted a brief whirlwind gust, he came to a stop a foot off the ground for a second and then landed deftly on his feet in the middle of the village amidst a small cloud of dust that swirled around him.</p><p>"Eeeek!" cried a feminine voice almost at the same time that he had landed, followed by a light thud and the clumsy clattering of wood.</p><p>His wings folded and disappeared behind him in one smooth motion as he looked around for the person who had yelped.</p><p>His eyes settled on the form of a young girl who looked to be in her late teens, with thick, curly red hair that brushed the tops of her shoulders and large emerald eyes that stared back at him with a mixture of surprise, disbelief, and <em>fear</em>.</p><p>She had fallen backwards to the ground on her butt, one hand clasping at her ample chest and the other covering her mouth. Beside her were several scattered pieces of what appeared to be firewood.</p><p>Well this was new. She was clearly an NPC of some sort, given her lack of equipment and the fact that she didn't attempt to defend herself or attack him, but never had he seen an NPC look and act so lifelike before. Although he reasoned that given everything else in this new version of the game, it made sense that she and any other NPC's in this world would be more real.</p><p>Squinting his eyes a little while he studied her more closely, he noted her shallow, panicked breaths and the rosiness of her flushed cheeks. Her eyes were wide and beginning to wet. Her mood appeared to quickly be shifting away from a mix of surprise and terror to simply terror, and were it not for his own stunned silence at her very real emotions and actions, he would have already said something to try and allay any fears.</p><p>Still, better late than never right?</p><p>"Hello, young miss," he spoke with a voice that was calm and soothing, but with an undercurrent of strength that carried an air of authority, "I mean you no harm. Please be calm and don't be frightened." He could hear himself, and the voice that came out of his mouth was definitely not his real one because the voice that was coming out of his mouth right now was heavier, more mature, and more commanding than normal.</p><p>The young woman didn't respond as she continued to stare silently at him, her body shaking a little as the fear apparently gripped her completely.</p><p>He could understand her reaction. A strange being with wings just happened to fly into your village in the middle of the night. It wouldn't be outrageous to think that he was some kind of demon or monster come to do nefarious things. Still, he was once again amazed at the hyperrealism of this whole situation. To have such a realistic reaction from an NPC was impressive.</p><p>With a small sigh, he took a few steps towards her and she immediately jumped in her skin and instinctively scrambled backwards away from him.</p><p>"P-please..." she said, her voice tight and wavering, "d-dont eat me!" she managed to say from behind her trembling hand.</p><p>"What?" He blinked. Honestly, did he really look that terrifying? Sure he had his armor on and all, but he hadn't even brandished any weapons, nor did he make any bestial noises to make it seem like he was some kind of flesh-eating monster or anything of the sort. He was pretty sure he looked like an armor human. Why was she so scared?</p><p>"I d-don't want t-to die," she whimpered, tears now flowing freely down her pretty face. Her eyes shut as she hugged herself and assumed a fetal position on the ground, totally breaking down.</p><p>If he could have sweat-dropped at that moment, he would have.</p><p>"Look, I'm-"</p><p>"Cheshire? Cheshire! What happened? Are ya alright girl?" boomed a panicked male voice off to the side, quickly followed by the sound of footsteps.</p><p>A heavyset, bull-necked manly man with a perfectly bald head and a fiery red beard, thick eyebrows, and an even thicker mustache appeared, his large calloused hands wrapped firmly around what looked to be a simple woodcutter's ax. He was wearing what seemed to be a plain cotton shirt and trousers, both pieces of clothing weathered and a bit ragged but good enough to still be worn.</p><p>There was brief moment of silence as the burly man took stock of the situation, his eyes glancing uncertainly between the girl's crying prone form and the strange man clad in fine armor and robes that stood close by. With eyes narrowing suspiciously, though with some reservation at having to face such a well-armed foe, the man spoke very carefully but no less threateningly.</p><p>"Who are ya, stranger? And what are ya doing to my daughter? Speak plain and true or yer head might be rollin' on the ground!" the big man spat as he finished his sentence. If ever there was a man with more bark than bite, this was he. Sure, he was big and burly, but there was no way his ax was going to bite through the armor of the man standing before him. And they both knew it.</p><p>Lucifer had to hand it to him though, he was putting on a very brave front. For a moment, he considered answering with his real name, the one he was given at birth back in the real world, but then decided against it. If these were NPC's and he was still in a game or a dream, what good would that do? Might as well continue the role playing for now and act as his character. Besides, this might be a lot of fun with the new realism effects – the dialogue and reactions from the NPC's alone were something else and he had barely scratched the surface!</p><p>Letting out a long breath of air, he reached up and removed his helmet, tucking it under his right elbow. His golden eyes were glowing in the dimly lit street, his white hair spiky up front with two bangs falling to either side of his face and the rest of his hair flowing a little past his ears. His features were sharp, regal, and delicate all at the same time. His skin was as smooth and youthful as his face was symmetrical and proportional, which was to say it was very much so.</p><p>To say he was handsome would have been an understatement. As a prince of the heavens, he was supposed to be.</p><p>"I assure you, good sir, that I mean neither of you any harm. I'm only here because I'm in desperate need of some answers," he paused for effect and then bowed with a flourish, "As for who I am... well, my name is Lucifer Morningstar, and it's a pleasure to meet you!"</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Fortunately, Lucifer was aware that he still had a passive <strong>[</strong>Charm<strong>]</strong> ability thanks to his angelic racial class that seemed to take effect as he spoke, because the burly man relaxed slowly, hesitantly lowering his ax to a non-threatening position. Lucifer didn't think the man would let down his guard so quickly like that after one simple explanation from a stranger such as himself, so it must have been at least partially because of the effect of this passive.</p><p>Unless this man was just far too trusting for his own good, which was a distinct possibility.</p><p>He also surmised that his passive didn't work on the girl because she was in such a serious state of panic and fear already before he even said a word that the passive <strong>[</strong>Charm<strong>]</strong> had no effect on her at all. The passive was certainly useful, but it was definitely nowhere near as potent as an actively cast <strong>[</strong>Charm<strong>]</strong> spell after all, or any of the other mind soothing or altering spells.</p><p>"Lucifer Morningstar?" the bearded man's deep voice rumbled, as if testing the name out for himself. "Hmm," he added thoughtfully as he walked purposefully over to his daughter and knelt beside her, putting the ax down next to him and gathering her up gently in his arms. He wiped away the tears from her face with the back of his thick fingers and made a few gentle shushing noises in an attempt to calm her. It didn't really work.</p><p>Still holding the young woman in his arms, the man returned his gaze to Lucifer. "Well, ya don't <em>seem</em> to be a monster."</p><p>Lucifer chuckled. "That's because I'm not."</p><p>"And that's what a monster pretendin' not to be a monster would say!" growled the man, though it wasn't entirely clear if he was serious or joking.</p><p>Fascinating! Lucifer applauded the developer who coded that line of reasoning into the NPC. These new NPCs were almost like real people. They seemed capable of having not only complex emotions but thoughts too. Was this some kind of true AI programming? Perhaps some neural-network self-learning program that mimicked human behavior or something?</p><p>He thought that true AI research and development had been banned by the governments of the world after the 2077 incident, but it seemed to him to be the only way to create such realistic NPCs. Maybe it was something close to a true AI, but still not? Either that, or they really did spend thousands of lines of code to answer a vast array of potential conversations. Plausible, but not exactly efficient.</p><p>Returning to the conversation at hand, Lucifer thought the man did have a point.</p><p>"Well, yes that does make sense..." he had to agree, "But I swear to you that I'm not a monster, and I'm terribly sorry for what happened with your daughter just now," said Lucifer as he raised his free hand to scratch the back of his head, grinning sheepishly. "My sudden arrival startled her nearly to death it seems. Perhaps it was a bit much for me to fly into the middle of the village so abruptly, but I didn't expect anyone to be out on the streets so late at night in the first place. If you want, I can help to calm her with a simple spell."</p><p>"Flying..." the man mumbled almost inaudibly and then glanced at him, eyes narrowing again ever so slightly, "Spells? So yer a magic caster eh?"</p><p>Lucifer tilted his head to the side and responded with a smile and a simple, "Yes." Judging from the man's reaction to his admission that he could use magic, he wondered if magicians in this world were considered suspicious characters. Or perhaps it was simply him being overly cautious that there was a stranger in front of him who could wield powerful magic.</p><p>"Yer no Adventurer," the man stated simply, looking down at his chest area before meeting his eyes, "I take it ya studied magic at that Academy then? Ya don't seem to be from the Imperial Army though."</p><p>Lucifer had no idea why he looked him up and down like that, as if searching for something, but decided not to ask. Perhaps he fancied men? He didn't mind that at all, not that he was interested in men himself. To each his own when it came to love and attraction, he thought.</p><p>He was definitely curious about this academy the man spoke of. What kinds of magic did they teach there? And he was also curious about the Empire with an army that he mentioned.</p><p>"Yes, you could say that. Though most of the magic I know I learned on my own outside of a classroom, I did begin my magical studies at an academy, yes." His thoughts went to studying a vast array of forums about spell builds and the like, as well as some of the quests to become a wizard and summoner involved some level of classroom and academic studies role playing at the Institute of Magic in Asgard.</p><p>"Ya studied magic... but not at tha Imperial Magic Academy?" the man picked up his ax after he secured the still-whimpering girl in his arms. She appeared to not burden him at all, a testament to his physical strength, or proof that the girl weighed very little. There was no implication in the man's tone, which meant it was simple curiosity that he asked him this question specifically.</p><p>"No. Now, do you want me to calm her down with a spell or not?" Lucifer asked, raising an outstretched hand in a nonthreatening manner towards the two of them, palm facing the sky.</p><p>The poor thing was still in such a terrible state and he felt bad about how scared the girl was, though he was still at a loss of how scary he really could be to have pushed her into this state. Even with his wings, he looked every bit a human, especially now that he had his helm off and they could see his face.</p><p>All manner of other questions popped into his head then: was flying uncommon in this land? besides this Empire, what other countries were there? and how widespread was magic? The few lights that he could see appeared to be some form of static magic light spell instead of oil or other mundane means, so magic must be pretty common.</p><p>The man grunted, "Alrighty then. Let's see this magic of yers." He adjusted the girl in his arms but made no move to get closer to the armored mage.</p><p>Lucifer noticed that the man's grip on his ax tightened somewhat, but he pretended not to notice that as he walked a little closer and turned his outstretched palm to face the girl.</p><p>Reaching for his magic, again subconsciously knowing what to do, he cast <strong>[</strong>Tranquility<strong>]</strong>. His palm glowed and a soft blue light enveloped the girl's head for a few seconds before fading away.</p><p>The reaction was immediate. As the glow was only beginning to fade after the successful casting of the spell, the redhead's sobs died down and her breathing returned to normal. Her tears no longer flowed and she seemed to have actually fallen asleep in her father's arms.</p><p>"There, all better now," said Lucifer with a small measure of pride at having successfully cast his first active spell in this new world. Turning a little, he bent down and gathered the scattered firewood that the girl had been carrying before his abrupt arrival scared her half to death. He spoke in an explanatory manner, "The emotional energy she expended must have drained her, since it appears she's fallen fast asleep. However, I can promise you that all I did was to calm her mind and clear away the dark clouds of fear."</p><p>When Lucifer returned to his feet, the bundle of firewood was tucked under his other arm.</p><p>The burly, bearded man was regarding him with quiet interest. He was definitely even more relaxed now than he was earlier.</p><p>Finally, before Lucifer could say anything more, the man broke the silence. "Name's Svar Ingolde. This here is my daughter Cheshire. We live jus' down tha road. Please join me fer a drink, Ser Morningstar. We can talk some once we're settled."</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>xxXxx</b>
</p><p> </p><p>Svar's home was a few sparsely furnished rooms surrounded by crude stone and wood, and Lucifer briefly pondered what the man did for a living.</p><p>"Her mother was killed by a stray wyvern many winters ago, before we came to live in this village," explained Svar somberly as he grabbed two beat up mugs and filled them with ale from a modestly sized barrel in one corner of the small kitchen. He walked over to the tiny dining table, one that seemed almost too small for a man of Svar's size, let alone Lucifer, who stood taller than Svar though was not as wide around.</p><p>The wood of the table was worn smooth from use and had numerous blotches from years of stains from food and drink.</p><p>"Ever since then, tha poor girl's been so afraid of most anythin' that can fly." Svar took a long swig of his ale as soon as he set down the mugs on the table. "She was only nine winters old when it happened." He shook his head slowly in regret.</p><p>"Ah," Lucifer grimaced as he accepted the mug of ale, though he refrained from drinking just yet. That explained why she was so terrified when she saw him appear from the sky. He turned his head to look into the living room next to the kitchen where the redhead slept peacefully on an old wooden bench covered with tattered cushions that looked rather thin. A rough wool blanket was draped over her to keep her warm as the cool evening air wafted in from the open windows.</p><p>She looked rather adorable right now, Lucifer thought, and he wondered what she was like when she wasn't so scared to death.</p><p>His mind turning once more to the conversation at hand, he wondered if this could be the beginnings of a quest. There was a chance that this was all a set up for some quest that would most likely involve slaying the wyvern that killed Svar's could barely contain his rising excitement. There was no need to get ahead of himself though. Better to enjoy the immersion to the fullest, the writers and developers had worked so hard to put this together after all.</p><p>Realizing that the silence had lasted a bit too long, and wondering if he needed to provide a response or put out some input for the NPC to get going again, he finally spoke up. "Is flying considered normal here, Master Svar?"</p><p>Svar looked at him curiously, then realizing it was a serious question, he frowned and shook his head. "No, 'tis not, Ser Morningstar. Some magic casters can do it, aye, but as far as I can understand 'tis not an easy spell that jus' anyone can master. Though I'm no expert on such matters, so ya should seek out someone who knows more. And trust me, there be plenty!"</p><p>"Huh." Lucifer stroked his chin absently. This really does feel like he's talking to a real person. How are they doing this? "And is all the flying done by magic or do people have wings too?"</p><p>"People... with wings? Well, there be... <em>demi-humans</em> with wings, I s'pose," Svar said the word demi-human with some hostility and did not elaborate further. "Where did ya say ya were from again?"</p><p>"I see, I see," Lucifer continued to stroke his chin, nodding all the while and ignoring Svar's question for now. He had to remember to be more careful while flying around then, especially when picking landing spots. Demi-humans were apparently not well-liked in this world, judging from the way Svar mentioned them.</p><p>He found it rather curious that the NPC thought <strong>[</strong>Fly<strong>]</strong> was a difficult spell. It was only a Third Tier spell, which while not the easiest, should not be that difficult for those dedicated to learning and wielding magic. Wizards, sages, and the like. Especially for players.</p><p>This warranted further investigation - how adept at magic were the NPC's of this world? He was likely the first player to arrive in this town and interact with the NPC's here. Even though the servers were probably nearly empty by the time the clock struck midnight, surely there were at least a handful of remaining players that were also transferred to this new world like him, right?</p><p>If the NPC's had issues with Third Tier spells like flying magic, then perhaps he didn't need to worry so much about PvE when it came to them. Though PvE did include monsters of course, and it would only make sense for the monsters to be stronger than most NPC's.</p><p>Still, it was too early for him to let his guard down about them. He needed to know more about the NPC's and the world at large to make a better assessment. There was certain to be a wide variety of them across this world, from weak ones to strong, as with any game.</p><p>Unfortunately, to find out about all of that he needed a better source of information, and Svar was obviously not such a source. Still, right now all he could do was draw on this well until it was dry. Most NPCs were probably asleep at this hour anyways, and might not even be responsive if he were to try and interact now. Besides, he was actually kind of enjoying this interaction.</p><p>The fireplace nearby burned bright with fresh wood from the bundle that they had brought in. Though the magic lamps provided most of the light in each of the rooms, the fire did cast some orange and red hues across the living room, shadows dancing in the light, some of which entered entered the kitchen as well. When the fire crackled and hissed loudly, it shook Lucifer out of his thoughts.</p><p>"Well, I'm truly sorry for your loss, Master Svar." He frowned, thinking for a moment about his own life.</p><p>Lucifer had never really known true loss, unless you counted losing something that you never really had in the first place. He had been raised in a struggling orphanage and grew up as solitary as he continued to be in his adult life, therefore he had no strong connections to potentially lose. Sure, he played with the other kids at times and he did appreciate the workers at the orphanage, and yes he spent some time with a few people here and there in adulthood, but video games were what he spent the majority of his free time with.</p><p>When he was not studying or working, he was playing video games. His real-world self was neither outgoing or confident, even though he was a moderately successful banker and therefore led a fairly comfortable life, which meant that he had little to no real friends outside the precious few that he had made in YGGDRASIL. And by few he meant that he could count them all on his fingers, the last of whom he spoke to almost a year ago before they "retired" from the game.</p><p>While he would interact with the dwindling players that he would sometimes run across in one of the nine realms, they were brief and not very deep conversations. It was only while talking to NPC's and role-playing as his character that he truly was able to become a different person, a better and cooler version of himself, and the main reason he loved to play the game in the first place. In here, he could be someone totally different from who he was in the real world. He could be brave, charismatic, and any other ideal trait that he wanted.</p><p>Oh, and blowing things up and kicking butt was certainly a very enjoyable bonus. Sometimes, if he allowed himself to get carried away, he could even be a bit <em>mischievous, </em>to put it mildly. He was just remembering some of those moments with a smile when Svar's deep voice rumbled, calling his attention.</p><p>"It's fine, tha woman was quite a ragin' bitch at times," the man said almost too casually, chuckling, causing Lucifer's eyes to widen slightly while raising an eyebrow. "Though bitch or no, she was my wife and I loved her, 'course. Still love her actually. Not much I coulda done ta save her though. I've made my peace with tha. It ain't like I can fight a wyvern on my own, I'm jus' a simple woodsman and I know my place in the world. I've made peace with that." He paused, his lips forming into a frown as the memory of the incident came back to him.</p><p>Svar's voice dropped even lower, "We didn't even realize the beast was there 'til it had already swooped down and... and..." he shuddered, "Well anyways, we're lucky ta be alive..." he trailed off, eyes looking at something distant.</p><p>Lucifer studied the man's face, noting all the emotions that crossed over him. What an amazing level of detail indeed.</p><p>The big man shifted in his seat, suddenly feeling uncomfortable under Lucifer's steady gaze, "Oh, and please just call me Svar, by tha way. I ain't anybody's master, least of all a gifted magic caster such as yourself."</p><p>Lucifer inclined his head, his hair moving a fraction, "Very well then, Svar. In return, I ask that you refer to me as Lucifer."</p><p>Lucifer was surprised that Svar had called him gifted with magic after having only seen him cast <strong>[</strong>Tranquility<strong>]</strong>, which was an easy First Tier spell that most anyone with some magic affinity could learn. Not that he wanted to change the man's opinion of him.</p><p>Granted, the magical strength of the spellcaster <em>did </em>affect the overall power and effectiveness of the spells being cast, but this was hardly a display to be called "gifted" over. This man had clearly not seen much real magic in his life so far. Lucifer imagined it would not be a stretch if Svar's head literally exploded if he were to see the higher tier magic that he could do. Though it was probably best to not let that happen at this point.</p><p>That made him wonder again how much real memory these NPC's really had. What if it was all purged after each encounter with a player or party? That would explain why he had little to no information on seeing such displays of magic before. Then again, if any players who were still logged on to YGGDRASIL when the servers were scheduled to close were brought here like him to be unwitting beta testers, there was a very low probability that such players had come by this village since this world appeared to be quite vast.</p><p>Lucifer groaned inwardly. There were too many unknowns for him to make good conclusions, and Svar's simple answers only served to increase the number of questions that swarmed his already buzzing mind. He could almost feel a headache coming on.</p><p>Svar grunted his acknowledgement at their agreement to address each other more informally.</p><p>"So how <em>did </em>you survive?" Lucifer asked, curious.</p><p>"I jus said 'twas luck, didn't I?" the man grumbled, taking another swig as his eyes stared down at the quickly dwindling amount of ale in his mug. He let out a long breath. "We were travelin' on the road at tha time and as fate would have it there were some adventurers nearby who had accepted a quest just a few days prior to deal with a rampaging wyvern. Tha very same damned wyvern that attacked us."</p><p>He paused, then continued again, "Tha adventurers didn't manage ta kill tha beast right then and there unfortunately, but at least they drove it away. Unfortunately, my dear Olga was already... well, she was too far gone ta be saved. And I can't afford ta have her resurrected, ya know. Assuming we can even find someone who can perform such a feat," the man said sadly and took another big gulp of his ale.</p><p>Again, Lucifer's brow went up. To his knowledge, resurrection wasn't that big of a deal. In fact, it was a normal part of life in YGGDRASIL, between PKers and strong monster encounters, death was fairly common all around. There were several types of resurrection spells that could be cast, each with varying levels of penalties on the target being resurrected.</p><p>A normal resurrection, that is one in which the player accepts their death and is returned to a save point, usually either a Guild Hall or a major city, had the highest penalty in that it resulted in a significant loss of experience and the loss of one mid or high-tier item in the player's inventory, usually dropped by your corpse upon your death.</p><p>The various resurrection spells, whether it was through an item or straight magic casting, reduced those penalties. Some almost completely nullified the penalties. Almost. There was <em>always</em> a price to pay for death.</p><p>For NPC's however, if they died they would normally respawn after a certain amount of time around where they were originally stationed or created. But if the NPC was a custom one created by a guild in their Guild Hall, they could only be resurrected in the Guild Hall in exchange for a sum of gold, the cost of which depended on the level of the NPC. So a level 50 NPC would cost significantly less gold to bring back to life than a level 100 NPC.</p><p>Lucifer wondered if this was simply a backstory for the NPC sitting here talking to him, or if it was a real event that happened and the NPC's somehow didn't respawn in this world. That mechanic would make sense with the whole hyperrealism that the developers were going for here. He filed it away in his mind as something to test out at a later date. He was finding out more and more just how much this world was different from how YGGDRASIL originally worked.</p><p>He didn't think the realism of this game could get any more incredible, but giving all the NPC's only one life to live was definitely mimicking reality if it were true. Though it would definitely complicate things in terms of quest availability and world building if there were players and events out there that started killing off too many of them. Nobody wanted to play in a server without <em>any</em> people, NPC or player, not even a solo player like him.</p><p>Unless, they added... but no, surely they didn't... definitely not<em>.</em> It was best not to think of such improbable things.</p><p>In any event, resurrection did at least exist in this new world and he would need to learn more about the whole process before he got into any serious fights, and the sooner he found out the better. He didn't want to lose any of his precious EXP or items if he could have avoided it by being more knowledgeable. While he could cast resurrection spells himself, since he had access to such divine spells, he couldn't very well cast it on himself after dying. He was a solo after all.</p><p>"May she rest in peace," said Lucifer and he raised his mug for a toast.</p><p>Svar's eyes rested on the mug extended towards him then at Lucifer before letting out a small chuckle and smacking his own mug against his guest's, the clacking of the wood and the sloshing of the ale echoing briefly around the room. "May she rest in peace!" he said with a grin.</p><p>Lucifer then tipped the mug to his mouth and took a gulp of ale for the first time. It didn't taste so bad. Not bad at all. In fact, it reminded him of some of the beer he had tasted in the real world, on one of those extremely rare occasions that he had gone out with his coworkers for a drink at a local bar or something. How long had it been since he had done that?</p><p>Suddenly, he stumbled backwards and toppled his chair over, the flimsy seat tumbling loudly across the floor as his wide-eyed gaze stayed focused on his mug of ale that sat on the table. His hands went up to either side of his head, elbows flaring out while his face took on a look of complete and utter astonishment.</p><p>
  <em>WAAAAIT. WHAAAAT?</em>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Chapter 3</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Lucifer blinked, mouth still agape. There was simply no way this was actually happening in a game, yet the fact remained that it was. There was no denying it. Not now. He had <em>tasted </em>the ale. And it wasn't like some simple flavors either, the ale truly and remarkably tasted like actual beer, with the various complexities in its flavors. He was sure of it.</p><p>Not that it really mattered whether it was a simple or complex taste because being able to taste anything at all was beyond comprehension in a video game, even a Dive one.</p><p>And the more he thought about it, the more it became apparent that this world really was beyond the realm of possibility given the technology of his world. Hyper-realistic, ultra-high definition graphics, he could understand and had no issues with. Sound was the easiest of the five senses to mimic realistically, so that wasn't an issue either. Upgrades to haptic feedback programming and sensors, sure, though he definitely didn't remember getting any new gear recently that would allow for him to even feel those changes, but that didn't matter too much right now.</p><p>Smell and taste were the two senses that the Dive gear most definitely couldn't deliver to the player, at least not the equipment that he was using, and yet here he was smelling and tasting things as real as if he were actually physically present. He hadn't really paid much attention to it before when he was outside, thinking that perhaps his mind was simply playing tricks on him, but he also had faint sensations of smell when he was out there in the open world.</p><p>Including all that Svar had said so far, along with everything that Lucifer had seen, felt, touched, and experienced, there was really only one logical conclusion, as far-fetched and unbelievable as that conclusion was to him: this was not some new version of YGGDRASIL that he had been transported to. This... this was <em>all real</em>.</p><p>This was a genuine world, as real a world as the one he would often escape from using his Dive gear, and he was mysteriously transported here.</p><p>Adding to the growing mountain of evidence was the fact that if this was a game, he had definitely been playing for almost twenty hours now, having taken the day off at work to play for the last day that YGGDRASIL was still online. He should have collapsed from exhaustion by now, which would have automatically triggered the fail-safe shutdown of the Dive gear that would disconnect him and bring him back to his world. Yet, that hadn't happened.</p><p>In fact, other than some mental fatigue, his body didn't feel a single shred of tiredness.</p><p>Deep down, in the furthest reaches of his mind, he had known it all along. He had willfully ignored all the obvious signs that pointed to the mind-shattering truth because what he wanted was to still believe this was a game. Because a game was what he knew, that was what he expected and understood.</p><p>He couldn't bring himself to think of this as a dream anymore either, simply because it was all far too detailed and complex for his imagination to fabricate cohesively. Moreover, if this was a dream, then it was quite a marathon of one because he definitely couldn't remember the last time a dream lasted for even a fraction of the length of time that he had already spent here.</p><p>Thinking about it made his head swirl.</p><p>What baffled him though was why he was now inhabiting the body of his YGGDRASIL avatar. Furthermore, he not only had all his equipment and items, but he also had access to his skills and abilities, and they all continued to operate in this real new world as they did in the video game. It made no sense!</p><p>Somehow, the game world of YGGDRASIL and this world had been meshed together because the games systems appeared to be woven into the very fabric of this world, at least from what he had seen so far. That was the only explanation for his ability to access his inventory and to use his skills and spells, despite some differences in mechanics on how to access them. However, while he hadn't seen Svar use an alternate-dimension inventory nor did he really think the man had the ability to use one, that didn't mean that other people didn't have it.</p><p>Sure, it wasn't that much of a stretch to think that it was possible for the game to be superimposed onto a real world, given that whatever higher power made that happen also brought him here from his own world in the first place. Was this an act of some unknown god then? Why did this even happen? This was definitely not the result of some unintended side-effect or glitch of modern-day technology. No, this was something far beyond the capabilities of the world that he had left behind, as advanced as it was at the time.</p><p>The world he left behind. It struck him that now that he was here in the body of his avatar, his old body was still lying in his room back in his world, connected to the Dive gear. Was that body now... dead? Or was there <em>another </em>him going about his daily life and the him that he was here now in this strange new world was a separate entity? Or did that old self simply disappear into nothingness when he was transported here, as if he had never existed in that old world in the first place?</p><p>That line of thinking suddenly made him realize something. If this was now his reality, and if this was now his body, then if this body got hurt, would he feel pain? and more importantly, if he his body got destroyed, if his HP were to ever go down to zero... would he actually <em>die</em>?</p><p>His mind went numb. The thought of actually dying in this strange land unsettled him. Though he supposed it wasn't all that bad because it wasn't necessarily true death. Since the YGGDRASIL game mechanics seemed to be in some sort of effect in this world, that meant death wasn't necessarily permanent. And Svar had confirmed that earlier with his mention of resurrection magic existing and being practiced in this world, however rare or expensive it might be.</p><p>Understanding the implications of all of this, Lucifer decided this had to be the top priority in terms of his intelligence-gathering. He needed to find out the price and costs of resurrection. How it worked, how to find people who can cast it, and if there was any place that a player like himself could revive to that was akin to a save point. He somehow doubted that such a place existed, but didn't completely rule out the possibility.</p><p>Lucifer was of course more than capable of casting resurrection magic on his own, whether using items or his own spells, but he couldn't do it on himself. Especially not after he was already dead. There were technically some items that had a self-resurrect function in YGGDRASIL, but they were exceedingly rare and he had never been able to acquire one. He really wished he had one of those now, because then he would at least be able to operate with some small measure of peace at having that as a backup.</p><p>To further increase his chances of survival, he was going to need to make allies. Even more so, he was likely going to have to party up too. Playing solo was all well and good while this was just a game, but this was now real life and his actual life was on the line. He would have to try and find people he could trust in first though.</p><p>If the worst were to happen and he were to die, the greatest benefit of having a party was that someone should and would be able to resurrect him. If nobody in the party had that skill though, then they could at least go find someone else to cast resurrection magic. He would be at their mercy though. He only hoped that whatever allies he made, they would feel compelled to bring him back to life more than a random bystander or a stranger would.</p><p>Additionally, he technically should have a lower chance of dying in the first place if he was fighting with a group of allies.</p><p>While his normal strategy of summoning such powerful allies to fight with him was definitely useful thanks to his many levels in a few Summoner classes, they would only be temporary and would eventually fade away. Besides, summoning the strongest possible allies would take a lot of mana, which while he had a significantly large pool to take from, still reduced his direct fighting ability since most of his own damage dealing was through spellcasting.</p><p>He didn't know if mana regeneration worked the same way in this world, which was another thing he would need to test out. There were far too many things to experiment with and learn, it seemed. Regardless, he definitely needed to make some allies on this world sooner rather than later. In the meantime, he would need to be overly cautious and avoid any unnecessary conflict.</p><p>His mind was moving a thousand miles a second at this point, the gears finally churning as he formulated some rudimentary plans with the limited knowledge he had gained so far. All of this thinking had occurred in the span of a few minutes of silence, though it felt a lot longer to Lucifer.</p><p>Svar got to his feet and stepped closer to him with a look of genuine concern. So lost was Lucifer in his thoughts that he did not notice at all that Svar, with all his bulk, was now standing next to him.</p><p>"Is everythin' alright, Ser M-... uh, Lucifer?" the man said, placing a hand as gently as he could on the angel's shoulder, as if he might explode.</p><p>"AH!" Lucifer jumped, startled out of his stupor by the sudden physical contact, one arm going up defensively for a split second as the other grabbed the hilt of one of the short swords before he realized what was happening.</p><p>The sudden movement caused Svar to jump back too, furrowing his thick brow even further with worry, though he didn't let out a scream of surprise like Lucifer had. His gaze drifted down warily to the sword that Lucifer was resting a hand on.</p><p>"What's tha matter, Lucifer? Is there danger?" The big man gripped his mug like he was about to throw it at any opponent that appeared, eyes darting around the room. The motion of him bringing it up above his shoulder caused the remaining ale within to splash onto the wall behind him, but he didn't seem to care.</p><p>Blinking rapidly and regaining some measure of composure, Lucifer coughed awkwardly as he straightened out his robes and relaxed, brushing off some non-existent dirt while he was at it.</p><p>"Oh, my sincerest apologies, Svar. I... well... I... I had what's called a... a waking nightmare," he managed to make up the lie on the spot, feeling quite proud of himself for doing so. "Not a big deal, really, so no need to worry. It very rarely happens and usually only when I'm extra tired. It's quite late after all, and it has been a <em>long</em> day."</p><p>Though technically, what he had said wasn't entirely a lie. In a way, this was all sort of a waking nightmare for him right now. He plastered on as real of a fake smile as he could muster as he looked at Svar, who was scratching the side of his head again and looking unsure of what to make of the whole situation.</p><p>"So... yer fine now? We're not in danger?" Svar seemed confused as he slowly, if apprehensively, lowered the mug. His stout body was still tense and he continued to look about cautiously as if still looking for any signs of a threat. Perhaps the ale was making the paranoia that Lucifer stewed up in him even stronger.</p><p>"Yes, we are most definitely not in any danger at the moment." Lucifer responded as reassuringly as he could. Berating himself mentally for losing his head, he made sure to maintain his reassuring smile as he held the man's gaze.</p><p>Svar let out another long breath. "A waking nightmare, ya said? Sounds... unpleasant."</p><p>"You have no idea."</p><p>With a sigh, Svar glanced out the window and then back at Lucifer.</p><p>"Well, 'spose it is quite late, ain't it? I guess we should-"</p><p>Lucifer interrupted him before he could finish, raising a hand in front of him with his index finger outstretched towards the ceiling. "Actually, before we get some rest, I did have a few more questions if you don't mind. And I know it's late, but these questions are... quite pressing. You see, it's about those adventurers, you said they accepted a job to kill that wyvern? Who gave them that job? And other than wyverns, what other monsters do you know about?" He didn't wait for Svar to answer if he minded or not, asking the questions immediately.</p><p>Even more so now than earlier, he needed more information. He couldn't wait for the morning anymore, and Svar would probably know at least some answers to those questions.</p><p>Svar gave him an incredulous look. "Yer serious?"</p><p>"Very. Now if you haven't already guessed, I'm not from around here."</p><p>Svar snorted at that as he went to refill his mug. "Ya don't say..."</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>xxxxXxxxx</b>
  <b></b>
</p><p> </p><p>Svar told him as much as he could of the surrounding area.</p><p>The village that they were currently in was called Woodhaven, named so because it was a very safe region next to a forest with mostly benign creatures. It was a major reason why Svar and Cheshire had moved here, after hearing about it from some traveling merchants that passed through the old town they used to live in far to the north.</p><p>The current chief of the village was a man named Thomas Sprigg, and he and his family had lived in the village for a long as there ever was a Woodhaven. The village chief also apparently owned a fairly detailed map of the region, which Lucifer certainly wanted to get a copy of if he could. Svar had promised to make introductions in the morning.</p><p>Furthermore, Woodhaven was actually located in a country called the Baharuth Empire, and was situated a little over a week's journey by horse to the northeast of the capital city Arwintar, where the Imperial Magic Academy had its main campus and where, nautrally, the Imperial Palace was located.</p><p>Svar wasn't much for politics, but all he knew was that the current Emperor's health was failing and that one of his four sons would be chosen to succeed him sometime soon. Apparently there was some conflict in the Imperial Court because of that, as was to be expected during transitions of power in a country.</p><p>After explaining that quests – or rather "jobs" – were for the most part normally given out by an organization called the Adventurer's Guild, with some exceptions being that on rare occasions there might be direct requests from private parties or even the government, Svar suggested that Lucifer actually visit a Guild branch and find out more for himself there, which was a practical suggestion and one that Lucifer had already intended to do upon first hearing about the Guild.</p><p>The closest one was apparently in the city of Oldaven, which was located only a few days journey on horseback and approximately midway between Woodhaven and Arwintar.</p><p>Flying would definitely cut the travel time significantly, and it would be near instantaneous if he used transportation spells like <strong>[</strong>Teleportation<strong>]</strong> or <strong>[</strong>Gate<strong>]</strong>, but those spells required the user to either have line of sight to where they wanted to go, or to be familiar with the place they were traveling to. Besides, flying would allow him to study the surroundings in further detail and was far too enjoyable to pass up to boot.</p><p>Lucifer also learned that the reason Svar had glanced at his chest armor earlier was because he was looking for an adventurer plate. The man had thought Lucifer was an adventurer, given that he could use magic. Apparently, the Adventurer's Guild gave out metal plates to each registered adventurer to help identify them. Kind of like dog tags used by the military back in his old world. Except the type of metal used for these plates also served to indicate the rank and therefore skill of the adventurer.</p><p>There were several ranks, with Copper being the lowest and Adamantite being the highest. Svar wasn't sure how many ranks there were in between, but he was sure there were several. Promotions were regulated by the Guild, though it was fairly straightforward. Strength, skill, experience, and the level of difficulty of the jobs completed were the main criteria they looked at.</p><p>What further intrigued Lucifer was that there were apparently only a handful of Adamantite-ranked adventurer teams in this world. They were considered the best of the best, the strongest of humanity and the pinnacle of human might. He would have to seek these people out and see for himself how strong they really were.</p><p>Lucifer figured they could potentially make good allies, though he would need to act cautiously around them at first since they were supposedly the strongest in the land. He wouldn't want to upset them and end up having to fight them. Svar unfortunately didn't know any of them by name, but he did know that there was at least one, maybe two such teams here in the Empire.</p><p>Oddly enough, when Lucifer heard about Adamantite being the highest rank possible, Lucifer wondered why the Guild had stopped there. There were plenty of even harder, more valuable ores than adamantite. Prismatic ores like scarletite, for instance, which was the metal that made up one of the swords attached to his hip.</p><p>Then there was the armor that he was currently wearing that was made out of Star Silver, which was also one of the prismatic ores. It was Lucifer's most prized armor set, given how much trouble he had gone through to get it. And it had been a <em>lot </em>of trouble. When he broached the subject of the prismatic ores, Svar thought he was joking.</p><p>"Adamantite is tha rarest and strongest ore and metal known to man, quit jokin' around," he had said with a chuckle, and Lucifer decided not to discuss that point further.</p><p>By the time all of that was explained to Lucifer, it really was quite late and Svar was already starting to fall asleep, partially due to the alcohol finally taking its toll, but mostly due to exhaustion.</p><p>"Come on now, no more... no more questions, Lucifer. It's off ta bed... fer tha two of us," said Svar, his head drooping every now and then for a brief second as he finished washing the now empty mugs in the sink.</p><p>"I probably should sleep on the couch and you can move your daughter to her room," Lucifer suggested, glancing at the still sleeping figure of Svar's daughter on the couch in question.</p><p>Even though Lucifer didn't feel tired, there wasn't much else he thought of doing at that moment so he figured that it might not be a bad idea to at least try to get some rest. In YGGDRASIL, it was possible to rest in a bed and get some benefits such as an increase to HP and MP regeneration as well as some minor buffs. All those buffs were temporary of course, and the type, strength, and duration of the buff was dependent on the quality of the bed and any additional items that supported such functions in the vicinity.</p><p>Though none of the buffs were ever strong enough to be of significant benefit, which was why most people didn't really take advantage of this element of gameplay, as a solo player Lucifer needed all the advantages he could get, no matter how small. He wondered if the rest buffs still worked in this new world, not that he could even really see what his current status effects were anyways without a HUD or console. Would he simply <em>feel</em> better and stronger after resting?</p><p>"Don't ya worry, Lucifer, it'll... " he stopped to yawn, "it'll be fine. 'sides, movin' my dear little girl now would most likely wake her up, and I'd hate to do that when she's sleepin' so peaceful, ya know? 'specially after tha night she had."</p><p>Sure enough the girl had an almost blissful look on her face, far removed from the expression she had earlier when they had first met. A pang of guilt hit Lucifer once again at the thought of the terror he had unintentionally caused the pretty young girl. He would have to apologize to her again in the morning.</p><p>Seeing no point in arguing, Lucifer replied, "Well, if you insist."</p><p>Svar shrugged and said nothing as he led Lucifer to Cheshire's room, closing the thin, rickety wooden door behind him after ushering him in.</p><p>"I'll wake ya in the mornin', and I'll be goin' out ta work right after I introduce ya ta tha chief. Be gone most o' the day, but I should be back in time fer supper. Oh, and no funny business in there, ya hear?" he explained before retiring to his own room, not bothering to wait for a reply from Lucifer.</p><p>Lucifer stared after him wondering what on earth he meant about funny business, and then he realized it and cursed the half drunk oaf for putting such thoughts in his head in the first place. He hadn't even been thinking anything of the sort at all until he brought it up! Shaking his head to rid himself of such embarrassing thoughts, he glanced around the room.</p><p>Unsurprisingly, given what he had seen of the rest of the house so far, Cheshire's room was small and cramped, but he supposed that it was cozy in its own way. There wasn't much furniture and what little was there was worn and used, but clean and clearly cared for as best as they could manage. There was a wooden bed with what looked to be a straw mattress encased in thin cotton sheets, a solid wooden nightstand next to it with a few cheap trinkets on it, and an aged wooden dresser pressed up against the wall.</p><p>He didn't have to guess what was in that and he definitely didn't want to open any of the drawers to find out. A small cracked mirror hung on the wall above the dresser. There was also a sizable wooden trunk at the foot of the bed, and with this he was tempted to take a peek, wondering what the young girl could possibly be putting in a trunk of this size.</p><p>He opened it up. Books, apparently. And a lot of them too. There must have been at least thirty of them stuffed into the trunk, which was nearly at capacity due to the sheer size of some of them. Taking a closer look, he saw that they definitely didn't look like fiction novels and were more like academic books. What was she reading?</p><p>Curiosity got the better of him and he decided to reach into the trunk and grab one of the thinner ones. Opening it up, he immediately frowned upon realizing that he could not read any of the words. It was written in a language utterly alien to him, which would make sense considering he was technically an alien in this world and they were aliens to him, even though they all looked like humans.</p><p>But then, as he was studying the strange characters of their writing closely in a vain attempt at trying to decipher their meaning, his eyes went wide as he felt some of his power activate. His eyes began to glow faintly, and the gibberish on the page suddenly transformed into words he could actually understand.</p><p>He was at a loss as to why this had happened for only a few seconds before he remembered that another one of the passive abilities of his Angel class is the <strong>[</strong>Gift of Tongues<strong>]</strong>, which basically allowed angels to understand any and all official languages, both written and spoken. Not only that, but it also allowed angels to communicate in those languages too. He was really glad to have it since it now meant he could read any books with ease, and books were certainly a great source of knowledge.</p><p>It occurred to him then that it was possible he was conversing in their language without even know it, and the ability was simply passively translating everything for him, but there really was no way to tell. That was one of the passive abilities that he couldn't deactivate in YGGDRASIL, so it was highly unlikely that he could deactivate it here. Not that he wanted to anyway.</p><p>He flipped through a few more of the books in the chest to confirm that the ability was working, and sure enough the translated writing appeared faster and faster the more he used the passive ability, as if the ability itself was getting used to the language of this world. He skimmed through some of the tomes before stopping and returning them to the chest.</p><p>Cheshire was apparently really into history. Most of the books in the chest were about the history of the Empire, with a few books on the history of the Kingdom of Re-Estize and something called the Dragon Kingdom. A small number of the books were on herbs and spices, including what one could make with them as well as where and how to gather materials in the wild. Several were actually written accounts of jobs and experiences by retired adventurers and travelers.</p><p>He made a mental note to read through those one of these days. Reading about the lives of some of the adventurers might shed some light into not only how they thought but also how they conducted themselves, which was surely going to be very useful information.</p><p>Lucifer sighed for what seemed like the hundredth time that day, pinching the bridge of his nose. His mind was starting to feel overtaxed right now with the sudden influx of information, and even though his body did not feel even the slightest bit of fatigue, his mind was definitely pleading for a break.</p><p>The bed was a bit hard and uncomfortable at first, but he could get used to it easily enough. He had slept in worse places back in his old world. The orphanage he grew up in as a child was not exactly what anyone would call a five-star hotel when it came to accommodations.</p><p>Lucifer wondered if he had to take his armor off to store it in his inventory and decided to try putting it away just with his thoughts, much the same way he had thought about returning the ≪Pitcher of Endless Water≫ earlier. His armor glowed briefly before disappearing in a blink, and he once again simply <em>knew</em> that it had been successfully transferred to that pocket dimension almost immediately.</p><p>Smiling triumphantly, because his success with storing his armor just by thought meant it would be easier to change out equipment, especially in the middle of battle, he got as comfortable as he could underneath the covers.</p><p>It was strange having this mental connection to his inventory, as if it was a part of his very being now. It was like this constant presence in the back of his head that didn't feel burdensome or troublesome in any way, thankfully, and he really wasn't truly aware of it unless he actually consciously thought about using his inventory. It was very convenient for quickly storing and retrieving items, and was especially useful for protecting things from theft.</p><p>He kept on the white enchanted silk robes he had been wearing underneath the armor, the edges lined with golden runes. It was a Divine Class robe called ≪Robe of the Sephiroth≫, and it provided a significant boost to mana, mana regeneration, spell power, and magical defense. In addition, it had two special properties.</p><p>First, the robe held three charges of <strong>[</strong>Heal<strong>]</strong>, which was Sixth Tier, that would activate to heal him whenever his HP dipped below 20%. Once activated, each charge took three days to replenish, so if he were to engage in a battle that used up all three charges, it would take nine days to fully charge it back up.</p><p>Second, if he was ever down to 3% HP, the robe would summon a Seraph Empyrean to defend him. Upon using this ability, the other effects of the robe – all the buffs and the healing charges – would be diminished by half until this ability was recharged, which would take a full ten days. Of course, the drawback here being that if he was hit by an attack that didn't make him enter that 3% threshold, it wouldn't activate.</p><p>It was one of the rarest items in his possession, and he quite liked how it looked on him too.</p><p>Feeling a bit paranoid, he cast a <strong>[</strong>Greater Alarm<strong>]</strong> spell on the house that would be triggered if anyone with hostile intent tried to enter the building. In addition to that he also cast <strong>[</strong>Dome of Protection<strong>]</strong> around the bed to defend against low-tier magic attacks and unenchanted missile projectiles. Not that it would do much good if they attacked from inside the barrier, since the dome covered an area a bit larger than the bed, but they would have to be almost on top of him to do that.</p><p>Normally, the dome covered an even larger area by default, but he found that he was able to adjust the area of effect and this was the smallest he could focus the spell into.</p><p>Despite how thin it looked, his robe was durable enough to give him some protection against physical damage too, at least the ones strong enough to overcome his nullification. If anyone tried to physically attack him while he slept, he would certainly have enough time to wake and fight off whoever it was without taking too much damage after their first attack on him.</p><p>With those defenses in place, and feeling the slight tickle in the back of his mind as he felt some of his mana used up to cast the spells, he lay down on the bed and got underneath the covers. Again, he was a bit overwhelmed not only by the realness of his sense of touch with the bed and the pillow and the blankets as well as the soft comfort of his silk robes, but also the smell that suddenly wafted into his nostrils.</p><p>He shut his eyes, taking in deep breaths. This was undoubtedly Cheshire's scent. She smelled nice, like lavender mixed with something else pleasant. It was definitely a nice aroma to be surrounded by. Embarrassingly enough, he recognized that this was the most intimate he had been with a woman in his life. And she wasn't even in the room!</p><p>He idly wondered if all girls smelled like this. As he breathed in Cheshire's scent and slowly drifted off to sleep, a question suddenly flitted into his mind.</p><p>What did <em>he</em> smell like?</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>xxxxXxxxx</b>
</p><p> </p><p>The morning came quickly, and with it sunlight that poured in from the small window over the bed that he was currently sleeping on. Stirring from his slumber, he slowly opened his eyes.</p><p>What a strange dream, he thought as his vision came into focus. He reached a hand out to the ceiling... and froze.</p><p>On his unblemished fingers were familiar magic rings. And the long sleeve of his robe was of the one his character wore in YGGDRASIL.</p><p>He sniffed and smelled lavender in the air.</p><p>"Good morning, mister Morningstar," said a timid voice coming from the foot of the bed.</p><p>Bolting upright, he stared in shocked silence at the redhead sitting at the foot of the bed, her emerald eyes watching him closely. She had flinched when he sat up so abruptly, but thankfully did not run away in fear nor did she yelp like she did last night.</p><p>So it wasn't a dream after all.</p><p>"Hi there, miss-?," Lucifer managed to say, suddenly blanking on the girl's name.</p><p>"Cheshire," she smiled, her voice rather quiet as if she didn't want to be overheard, even though it was only the two of them in the room. "Just call me Cheshire, please sir."</p><p>"Yes, right. Of course, Cheshire it is then. It's nice to finally meet you... again." He cringed as he unintentionally added the last part. He didn't mean to bring up the events of last night.</p><p>A brief silence followed.</p><p>"I'm sorry, by the way. About last night..."</p><p>"It's okay." Her eyes looked away sadly as the corners of lips turned into a small frown. She gripped her skirt tightly with her hands, remembering for a second how terrified she had been.</p><p>"I hope you understand that I didn't mean to frighten you like that. It was an accident and I really am truly sorry."</p><p>"It's okay," she repeated, her frown turning into a smile once again as her eyes met his gaze. "You're not scary now."</p><p>"Right," Lucifer let out a small laugh. "I suppose I'm not."</p><p>She looked much cuter up close like this, and her timid personality was somewhat endearing. He noticed her body was actually quite curvy and developing into quite a figure. She had a slim build and, besides the similarities in hair color, he wouldn't have guessed that she and Svar were related given how different the rest of their physical attributes were. He figured that she probably took after her mother.</p><p>"I'm supposed to introduce you to Chief Thomas after breakfast. My father was called to work very early and we didn't want to wake you," said Cheshire.</p><p>Lucifer had a newfound respect for Svar. Even after a very late night and some drinking, the man still managed to go to work early, regardless of the fact that his employer had asked him to. Not to mention he had apparently trusted Lucifer enough to leave him in his home with his only daughter. Was it because of the effects of the <strong>[</strong>Charm<strong>]</strong> passive? Or were they simply too trusting here?</p><p>"I understand. Then I'm all yours for today," he said with a smile that caused the young girl to blush terribly hard and look down at her hands clasped on her lap.</p><p>"Sorry to have startled you awake," she said quickly, brushing some of her curly red hair back that had gotten into her face. She glanced down at her lap, where she clasped her hands together.</p><p>"Oh, no need to apologize! I should be waking up anyways. Besides, this is your home and your room, so you shouldn't be apologizing to me when I'm the one imposing."</p><p>She giggled softly. "You're very polite."</p><p>Lucifer inclined his head, "I'm always polite to fair maidens such as yourself."</p><p>Cheshire's eyes widened and her cheeks were almost as red as her hair as she quickly glanced at him then back down at her hands.</p><p>"Well, umm... breakfast is ready now!" With that said she stood and left the room in a hurry.</p><p>He wondered if he said something to offend her as he watched her leave.</p><p>Truthfully, Lucifer didn't feel hungry at all. He wasn't even sure if he had internal organs, although the fact that he could breathe meant he did have lungs, so that was something. He may have looked human, but his YGGDRASIL avatar carried over to this world and he was in fact an angel, a heteromorphic race of beings that were immortal.</p><p>His body was not supposed to be subject to physical needs such as hunger, thirst, and even rest. Though he did incur mental fatigue, if he for whatever reason decided to run all day he should be able to physically run all day. At least, theoretically. He wasn't 100% sure of that yet. This whole situation was still new and strange to him so he would need to learn by experience and not rely solely on his knowledge of how things were <em>supposed</em> to work.</p><p>If he had lungs though, then that probably meant he did have a stomach somewhere. Right? Although if he did eat and drink, did that mean he would eventually have to relieve himself at some point?</p><p>There was only one way to find out.</p><p>After quickly getting into his armor since he felt a bit naked without it – thank goodness for his dimensional inventory – he joined Cheshire in the kitchen, where she had prepared a simple meal for the two of them: eggs, toast, and a few strips of bacon each with a cup of tea.</p><p>"This looks and smells delicious, Cheshire. Thank you very much," he said as he took a seat. True enough, the meal did smell pretty good and it looked to be perfectly cooked.</p><p>"Oh, it's nothing special," she replied modestly, but she definitely perked up after hearing his words.</p><p>Digging in, Lucifer found that he could definitely taste the food, the same way that he could taste that ale last night. He was no culinary expert back in his old world, and he wasn't a great cook either, so almost all of his food was either pre-made or from takeout. This home-cooked meal tasted delicious enough for him. Swallowing the food didn't seem to cause any issues with him internally either, so it was for now safe to assume that he could eat normally. Not that he really needed to of course.</p><p>"It's quite good, Cheshire. It's been a while since I've had a home-cooked meal," he told her truthfully. The tea was decent too.</p><p>She beamed at him. "I'm glad you like it!"</p><p>They ate in relative silence after that, and when they were finished she cleaned and put away the dishes and utensils and then refilled both their tea cups.</p><p>Lucifer placed a hand on his stomach. He didn't really feel much of anything down there. Not that he had eaten a massive meal or anything, but he had thought he would at least feel some semblance of fullness. It did make sense that he wouldn't though since he couldn't feel hunger either.</p><p>While he was pondering the mysteries of angelic anatomy, Cheshire caught his attention.</p><p>"Sir Lucifer?"</p><p>"Hmm?" He sipped on his tea, leaning back in his chair as he glanced at her.</p><p>"Are you human?"</p><p>The spray of tea that erupted out of Lucifer's mouth was very much unbecoming of a gentleman.</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>xxxxXxxxx</b>
</p><p> </p><p>The study was big enough to comfortably hold thirty people, with a beautiful crystal chandelier that hung from the high ceiling. The walls were lined with bookshelves, each filled to the limit with books and categorized by subject. Although there was a separate library on the premises, which contained thousands of texts, the study held the rarer and more valuable ones in the collection.</p><p>The north side of the room had three floor-to-ceiling windows that allowed in a flood of sunlight from dawn to dusk, making it the perfect place to read, work, and study all day. To either side of each window were the finest red velvet curtains embroidered with gold.</p><p>Near the center of the room was a sturdy oak desk, the edges and sides intricately carved into beautiful designs and inlaid with gold and silver. A masterwork of craftsmanship that had cost a small fortune.</p><p>Normally, within such a room and sitting behind that desk, you wouldn't be surprised in the slightest to find some old, dignified lord attending to the paperwork of his domain.</p><p>This time, however, there sat someone far younger. A boy only fifteen years of age. His pale skin was unblemished and smooth. His blonde hair shone brilliantly in the sunlight, as if each strand on his head was made of actual gold. Sharp purple eyes stared out into the world, containing a look of maturity and wisdom that defied his youth. Though he was still growing, his features already resembled the handsome, regal face of his father.</p><p>He wore a fine white and gold shirt over top of which was a red robe of the finest thread with gold designs and trimmings. Suffice it to say he looked every bit as princely as he should, save for the lack of a crown on his head. And even then, with the shining of his golden hair, it was almost as if he had one anyway.</p><p>Those sharp amethyst eyes studied the book that lay open before him on the desk, a gloved hand flipping the pages every so often as he progressed through it at a measured pace. Not too fast, not too slow. Absorbing the information contained within its many pages.</p><p>Knock. Knock.</p><p>"Enter." The young prince didn't even look up from his book as he spoke, his young voice carrying a weight of authority that did not match his diminutive stature.</p><p>An old man tall and thin dressed in the black and white suit of a butler entered the room carrying a silver tray full of fruits and several crystal glasses filled with various juices. The butler stopped in front of the desk and bowed his head towards the prince, who gave the subtlest of nods to acknowledge his servant.</p><p>With permission granted, the butler approached the desk and placed the tray on a clear space in front of the book that the young prince was reading, careful not to cause too much of a disturbance as he did so.</p><p>The butler wordlessly stepped to the side and stood at attention, waiting for further orders from his master.</p><p>"Thank you, Peter." The prince reached out and grabbed one of the small forks on the tray with his gloved hands, helping himself to a few slices of fruit.</p><p>The butler bowed at the waist at his master's appreciation. "Do you need anything else, your highness?"</p><p>The prince sighed. "I need an army. Can you procure one for me?"</p><p>Peter blinked. "I... uh, your majesty... that's..."</p><p>The prince waved a hand carelessly, "It wasn't a serious request, Peter."</p><p>"O-of course, your highness."</p><p>"Still," said the prince, finally looking up from his book and straight at the dark brown eyes of his butler, who immediately looked down at the ground. "It would be nice if I had one. Things would be a tad easier that way."</p><p>Peter remained silent, unsure of what to say. The young prince was considered by many to be a genius, and he could not even begin to fathom the intricacies of the boy's thoughts. Though he reasoned that it had something to do with the impending succession.</p><p>The Emperor's health was deteriorating, and everyone in the Empire was aware of it. Though none knew the extent of it save for the Imperial Family and the Five Great Noble Houses. Even so, there was already commotion in the court over the matter of who would become the next Emperor of the Baharuth Empire.</p><p>As the youngest of the four princes, his master was the least likely, even though he was in Peter's eyes the most suited to lead even despite his obvious youth.</p><p>The eldest, Prince Jersei, was a 27-year-old well-known womanizer who lived to revel and party all day and all night. He took very little seriously and would likely gladly not take the throne if he had a choice. Very rarely did he make appearances in court, and usually only when it was required of him by order of their father. Otherwise, he was most likely drunk and in bed with two or three women at a time. It was said that he had sired many bastard children already. Their father had long given up on trying to corral him, simply letting him do his thing in his own estate far to the north and away from the public eye.</p><p>The second-born, Prince Jaque, 25, was a dangerous man who held strict disdain for anyone not of noble birth, and his disdain turned into hate for any non-humans. There were rumors that he had torture rooms in his various residences, which he used for both business and pleasure. Though of course, those were simply rumors. Publicly, he acted every bit the part of a prince and a politician. Charming, charismatic, and intelligent.</p><p>Perhaps most importantly, Prince Jaque was said to hold the most support from the nobility since he was presumed to want to uphold the status quo – for the most part – if he were to ascend to the throne. Unlike his other brothers, Jaque actually <em>wanted</em> to be the next Emperor and has been rather obviously building support among the nobility over the past few years with that particular goal in mind.</p><p>The third prince, Prince Jupiter, was a capable warrior but was definitely no political leader. He lacked charisma and was not well-versed in governance or academics, though what he lacked in the intelligence department he more than made up for in his martial skills. He was a fierce warrior in his own right and was considered to be one of the champions of the Imperial Army.</p><p>If Jupiter were to be ranked by the Adventurer's Guild, he was supposedly around the rank of Platinum. Some might even say he was worthy of Orichalcum. An amazing feat given that he was only 22. He had already vanquished plenty of strong monsters within the Empire's borders and has been involved in the annual engagements with the Re-Estize Kingdom for the past few years.</p><p>Then finally there was Peter's master, Prince Jircniv, who was born of a different mother than the first three princes.</p><p>After the first Empress died almost twenty years ago, the Emperor remarried to the current Empress and Jircniv's mother, Empress Alana. A dazzling brunette beauty who was the daughter of one of the Five Great Noble Houses, with a brain to match her looks.</p><p>The Flower Empress, they called her, for she pushed for flower gardens to be built in all major cities of the Empire. The Imperial Garden at the Palace was a paradise of flowers thanks to her efforts, and she was known to be kind and compassionate and a favorite of the people. She pushed for social reforms and better conditions for the people, and perhaps her most important achievement to date was helping to establish the Imperial Magic Academy.</p><p>While the Imperial Army had always trained magic casters on their own, the Empire as a government didn't have a formal education system for magic casters who didn't want to enter military service. The Academy helped to resolve that by opening its doors to any who had the talent and wanted to learn to control magic, whether they wanted to enter the military or not.</p><p>Empress Alana was, in Peter's humble opinion, a very good match for the Emperor, and a blessing for the Empire after the dark days and months that followed from the passing of the first Empress.</p><p>Due to their differing mothers, the first three brothers never quite got along with Jircniv, and the youngest prince's age and precociousness didn't help matters. Perhaps what irked the first three brothers the most – and Jaque most of all – was that despite being born well before him, it was Jircniv who was doted on by their father. And to add further salt to the wound, it was Jircniv who looked the most like him too.</p><p>The young prince was groomed personally by the Emperor, given all manner of tutelage by the wisest and most expensive teachers available. He was also protected from the machinations of the court thanks to the Emperor, for fear of the nobles corrupting the youth in some way. Or at least that's what people thought – it was not like the Emperor explained his actions, nor did anyone dare to ask.</p><p>Of all the children, it was Jircniv that the Emperor had spent the most personal time with, which was surprising given how much older his brothers were. Because of that, many in the court knew that even though it was natural to follow the line of succession, that when the day came the Emperor was more than likely going to name Jircniv to ascend to the throne.</p><p>Peter was brought back to his senses at the sound of a book slamming shut.</p><p>"How long has it been since I've stepped foot outside the estate?" the prince asked without looking at the butler as he leaned back in the ornate wooden chair that matched the desk. It was too high off the ground for him to have his feet flat on the floor, with only his toes touching it, but he didn't seem to mind in the slightest.</p><p>"Uhh," Peter thought for a while, the question catching him by surprise. "I believe it has been forty-three days, your highness."</p><p>"Forty-four, actually. That means Baron Anoch is hosting a banquet later tonight for the engagement of his eldest daughter, yes?" It was more a statement than a question.</p><p>Peter realized the prince had known all along, as was to be expected from the genius prince.</p><p>"I apologize for miscounting, your highness. And yes, you are of course correct. They are also set to have some sort of demonstration for their son, Lord Nimble, at least according to the invitation we received."</p><p>Prince Jircniv took a sip of juice, holding the crystal glass gracefully in his slender hand.</p><p>"I'd like to attend."</p><p>Peter bowed. "Understood, your highness. I'll inform the men and prepare the carriage right away."</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Chapter 4</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"I'm sorry Lucifer, please forgive me! That was so rude of me to say!" exclaimed Cheshire, who was now burying her face into her hands in embarrassment.</p><p>Still somewhat taken aback by the bluntness of her question, though also amused, Lucifer slowly put down his tea and got to his feet without a word, making his way over to the kitchen counter. He grabbed a cloth towel and proceeded to wipe away traces of the tea that he had unceremoniously sprayed everywhere.</p><p>Quiet settled into the room, broken only by the sounds of him wiping away at the table.</p><p>Lucifer watched Cheshire from the corner of his eye while he cleaned, still not reacting as the silence between them stretched on.</p><p>She still had her face in her hands and was clearly taken aback by her own forwardness, but she appeared to be more embarrassed than scared. Maybe that was because she had already subconsciously trusted him not to harm her given their interactions since they had met. Or maybe the <strong>[</strong>Charm<strong>]</strong> passive was helping affect her. He wasn't really sure, it wasn't like there was an obvious way to really check if it was working on someone or not.</p><p>He did think though that if he had been a real monster pretending to be a human, and she had accosted him like that, she'd likely be dead or dying by now. She should count herself lucky that he was no such monster.</p><p>"You really ought to be careful what you say to people," he finally said, chastising her gently. Then, in a neutral tone, he said, "What makes you think I'm not human anyway? Do I not look human to you?"</p><p>She parted her fingers so that she could peek out at him from between them, her eyes studying him briefly as the words stumbled out of her mouth. "Yes? No... Not really... Well I... I really don't know." She was as confused as she was uncertain. Her shoulders sagged and she covered up her face again.</p><p>Then it dawned on him. The reason why she wasn't sure whether he was really human or not. It had taken him longer than he'd care to admit to realize it, but at least now he knew. At first he thought that maybe she had noticed something strange while he was eating, or even while he had been sleeping, but no. This was all due to the simple fact that she had seen his wings, however briefly that had been.</p><p>Even an idiot would know that humans don't normally have wings. Not that he considered her to be an idiot.</p><p>Those white wings of his were engraved in her memory now, and he felt a pang of guilt that it was associated with fear. Perhaps this was a good time to practice using memory magic, though he was wary about it since he wasn't sure how it would work in this new world. He didn't want to accidentally mess with any of her other memories in the process.</p><p>"I understand," he said. "You're wondering about my wings, aren't you?"</p><p>She nodded slowly. That was one reason. She didn't tell him that she thought his eyes also seemed to glow at times. Unnaturally so. But in an awe-inducing way. She didn't tell him because maybe she was just imagining that part. Maybe it was just a trick of the light.</p><p>Lucifer was actually kind of proud of himself that he had hit the nail on the head. He didn't really want word getting around that there was a non-human flying around, especially considering the hostility that Svar seemed to have towards demi-humans. Svar seemed to be a reasonably peaceful fellow, one that he had managed to befriend. There had to be other people out there who would have more aggressive reactions if they found out.</p><p>Not that he didn't have confidence in his abilities to fight, but avoiding unnecessary ones was paramount right now. Not until he gathered more information about this world.</p><p>"It's quite simple really," Lucifer started to explain, thinking quickly, "It's a spell. You know about how some magic casters can fly, right?" She nodded. "Well, my flying magic gives me wings. It's quite advanced magic, actually, and not many people can do it."</p><p>She nodded to indicate that she understood, her hands slowly dropping from her face as she looked at him with something akin to wonder and guilt.</p><p>"You need not worry," he smiled reassuringly, "I'm human. I just happen to know some advanced magic. That's all there is to it."</p><p>Thank goodness for the passive <strong>[</strong>Charm<strong>]</strong> ability. He was sure it wouldn't have been that easy to convince her without it. Though, was it wrong to be using it all the time like this? Should he shut it off? It technically only worked on the subject he was talking to, or subjects if it was a group, so it wasn't like it was working on everyone around him all the time. Plus the effects weren't <em>that</em> strong, or at least they weren't supposed to be. But this wasn't YGGDRASIL anymore so there was a chance that it worked a little differently here. He'd have to look into this further later on.</p><p>"That means you're very strong then, right?" she asked.</p><p>Lucifer started rubbing the back of his neck, "Well, I don't know about that. Let's just say I can handle myself in a fight if I need to and leave it at that. Although..."</p><p>"Yes?"</p><p>"I would really appreciate it if you didn't tell anyone about the wings in the first place. People might get the wrong idea, and I'd rather not have to explain my magic again and again. It would be quite troublesome. Do you think you can do that for me?"</p><p>Cheshire gave him an earnest look and nodded vigorously. "I understand! I don't want to cause you any trouble, Lucifer." She got to her feet and bowed deeply, apologizing. "I'm sorry again for being so rude!"</p><p>Lucifer was well aware that the girl before him had a lovely form, and the way she was bowing with the loose blouse she was wearing... He averted his gaze quickly enough as she raised herself back up.</p><p>"Ahem... It's fine. In fact, I think it was better that we got that cleared up now rather than later. I'm sure you must have been worrying to find out the truth. I wouldn't want to have you terrified of me again."</p><p>"You're... you're too nice, Lucifer."</p><p>With a shrug, he looked out one of the kitchen windows. "Say... what would you have done if I said I wasn't human?"</p><p>"Eh?" She looked surprised at his question.</p><p><em>I'm no longer human... am I?</em> he thought as he looked at her.</p><p>It hadn't sunk in yet until she had asked him that question earlier, forcing him to think about his own humanity. His mind was still his, a human mind with all his experiences from his previous human self, and yet it also felt different. He couldn't quite put a finger on exactly what differences those were yet, but he knew that even though he was consciously aware that his mind was the one he had before, something had changed within it.</p><p>Was that different feeling coming from his new ability to control and perform magic?</p><p>His golden eyes drifted to look at her. "If I had told you I wasn't human, would you have been scared of me again? Would you have tried to run away from me?"</p><p>More importantly, his body was completely different now. If he truly was in the body of his YGGDRASIL avatar, then that would mean he was now an immortal angel. He would never age or die of natural causes. He had superhuman strength, reflexes, and agility, combined with the power to manipulate magic. Heck, even <em>if</em> he died he could technically be brought back to life. His old human form couldn't even begin to fathom doing a fraction of those feats.</p><p>What does it mean... to be human? The question was so deep that he was immediately at a loss as to how to even begin to answer it. Especially in this setting, in his situation.</p><p>Cheshire cast her gaze down, looking deep in thought. "No," she finally said, her voice firm and her expression one of determination. Of certainty. "I wouldn't have been scared of you even if you said that you weren't human."</p><p>"Really now?" Lucifer raised an eyebrow at her. If he had been in her shoes, he might've been frightened to hear that this strange magical being in front of her wasn't human after all.</p><p>"Even if... even if you weren't human. I think you're nice and kind at heart, and I don't think you would harm me." She paused for a moment, then continued, "Yes. I'm sure of it. I wouldn't be afraid even if you weren't actually human."</p><p>"How can you be so certain? You've known me for less than a day," he pointed out.</p><p>She nodded her head slowly. "You may be right, but this... this is how I feel. This is what my instincts are telling me about you."</p><p>That was interesting. But being nice and kind all the time... sounded kind of boring<em>. </em>In his past life, he was well aware that he was too nice. Far too nice. So nice that people would often take advantage of him and walk all over him at times, and though he didn't really appreciate them doing so and he was well aware of what they were doing, he couldn't really do anything about it.</p><p>He was powerless to stop them because he didn't want to make any trouble for anyone so he went along with it. He was never a fighter, at least outside of video games, but now...</p><p>No longer wishing to dwell on the subject, he smiled and said, "Well, I guess we'll never really know since I <em>am</em> human, so let's stop talking about that nonsense. How about we go meet this village chief of yours?"</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>xxxxXxxxx</b>
</p><p> </p><p>Baron Anoch's estate was a half day's journey from where Prince Jircniv was currently residing, a nearby estate that was one of the many Imperial Family holdings across the Empire.</p><p>Like most barons, Baron Anoch's lands were quite small and his influence limited, being that the baronies were technically at the bottom of the nobility totem pole of power. That being said, some of the higher-ranking nobility – like dukes, earls, and viscounts – would often show up to the functions and events they would hold. Sometimes they went because they were bored and had nothing else to do, other times they attended for political or social purposes, and a few of those times were due to family relations and obligations.</p><p>On very rare occasions, a member of the Imperial Family might even attend one of these events.</p><p>Situated on a hill overlooking a small town of a few thousand people sat the Anoch Family mansion. It was a small collection of buildings built almost entirely of stone and hard timber, with the main house built fairly large. A low stone wall surrounded the perimeter, and while one could technically call it a castle, it was not quite up to standards for that designation to be meaningful in any way that mattered.</p><p>The Anoch Family was middling, bordering on higher end, in both power and wealth among the baronies, largely able to keep out of the worst of the power struggles in the court thanks to the deft political maneuverings of the baron. He had some strong allies and no enemies, which was quite a feat given the nature of the court.</p><p>The upcoming wedding of the eldest daughter of the family would definitely increase their standing somewhat, as she was being married off to a Viscount's second son, but it was a relatively minor event in the grand scheme of the Empire. Perhaps in a generation or two, the result of this union might help to shift the Anochs into the upper tier of nobility. That is, if all went well.</p><p>While the Anoch Family had no real enemies to speak of, they had <em>some </em>rivals in their fellow noble families as they all sought to improve their position in the court, sometimes at the expense of others. These rivals would no doubt take notice of the Anochs's rise and respond somehow. Whether the response was friendly or not was of course still to be determined.</p><p>For tonight's festivities, there would be a few dozen nobles and their retinues in attendance, but only a handful were of a higher status than Baron Anoch. That included the Viscount and his family.</p><p>Lady Swift Anoch was definitely a pretty woman, with a gentle heart and a good head on her shoulders. With flowing brown hair and lively blue eyes, she was the only one of the four children who totally took after the baroness, who was a beautiful woman herself. The Viscount's son was lucky to have her as his betrothed.</p><p>"How do I look, father?" Swift twirled as soon as the three maids stepped away from helping her put her striking azure blue gown on.</p><p>"Simply stunning, my dear," replied the baron from across the fitting room, his lips parting in a wide smile. He made a note to personally thank the tailors he had hired to make his daughter's gown just for this occasion, and he would be sure to talk them up to his fellow nobles. They had done a marvelous job and deserved credit for it.</p><p>"You're only saying that because I'm your daughter," she stated with a slight frown as she studied herself in the three full length mirrors beside her. She was not convinced.</p><p>He walked closer, causing the maids to bow and take a couple of steps back as they stared at the ground subserviently.</p><p>"I'm only saying that because it's the truth, and not simply because I'm your father. Or are you calling me a liar, my dear?"</p><p>She glanced at him and gave him a warm smile as her frown quickly evaporated. "Thank you, father," she said sincerely.</p><p>"Hm. What jewelry will you be wearing? You must be careful not to wear too much, but also not to wear too little. It is a delicate balance and must be done right."</p><p>Swift sighed. "I honestly haven't even decided yet. I was going to have mother help me pick some pieces out whenever she has a moment."</p><p>Baron Anoch nodded, stroking his mustache with a thumb and index finger. "Well, your mother <em>would</em> have a better eye for such matters."</p><p>The young lady sighed as she leaned to either side, testing the dress. "I know she's busy getting the household ready for the banquet, but I wish she was here to give her opinion on this dress as well."</p><p>"I'm certain your mother would agree with me, dearest daughter," responded the baron without hesitation. There was no doubt in his mind.</p><p>"Dearest daughter?" repeated Swift in mock surprise, "Don't let Adroit (pronounced: <em>A-dwah</em>) hear you say that," she teased as she continued to pose in front of the mirrors, finally admiring herself. She had to admit that she did look good, but how good? Was it good enough?</p><p>"Hear who say what, dear sister?" said the young girl in question. Apparently the little girl had snuck into the room, judging from the half-open door that they all hadn't noticed until now.</p><p>Lady Adroit Anoch. The youngest of the baron's four children at the age of ten. She had her blonde hair done up with baby blue ribbons into pigtails and carried around a rather bizarre-looking green doll of a frog in a suit.</p><p>"Father!" she cried gleefully, not waiting for her sister to respond as she launched herself into the open arms of the baron, who had gotten down to one knee to greet her.</p><p>"You're as lively as ever, little one," said the baron, hugging her close with a look of pure joy on his face. "I thought you were taking a nap."</p><p>"I just woke up!" she exclaimed proudly, raising her froggy as if she had won some prize.</p><p>"Wonderful," the baron said. He had a soft spot for all his children, but if he really thought about it, he knew that he cared for Adroit the most. She was the baby of the family after all. She was so innocent, loving, and carefree. He wanted to protect her from the real nasty world out there for as long as he could.</p><p>Adroit's expression changed to one of concern as she looked straight into her father's eyes. "Do I really have to leave Mister Froggy in my room tonight?"</p><p>The baron gave her a pointed look. "Yes, my dear. You can't have Mister Froggy at the banquet. He might get lost or dirtied since there will be so many people there. You wouldn't want that to happen, would you?"</p><p>The young girl considered his words carefully, frowning as she did so, but then she bobbed her head slowly. "I guess not..." she admitted reluctantly. Even the thought of losing her frog nearly brought tears to her eyes, and the baron was about to try and cheer her up when his other daughter sprung to action.</p><p>"Adroit! Father was just telling me how stunning I look in this dress. What do <em>you </em>think?" interjected Swift in the hopes of distracting the girl. The older girl turned and posed for her younger sibling's judgement. Her poses were serious at first, but then turned a bit silly once Adroit started paying attention.</p><p>Blinking away the wetness in her eyes, the little girl craned to see around her father and after a moment gave a satisfied nod and a smile. Then a giggle at her sister's antics. "Well I think you look really pretty, big sis! Besides, father's always right!" As soon as she said that she started squealing gleefully as the baron picked her up and spun around as he hugged her tight.</p><p>"See? Your sister agrees, Swift. She speaks the truth just as I do. The matter is most definitely settled. You are stunning, dear."</p><p>"I can't breathe!" Adroit cried in mock helplessness as she giggled and weakly attempted to escape her father's grasp.</p><p>"If you cannot breathe, then how are you speaking, child?" mused the baron, eliciting more giggles from the little girl in his arms.</p><p>While the two had their fun, the older girl took a deep breath as she twirled for what seemed like the hundredth time, her eyes shifting between all the mirrors. "I suppose it'll have to do for now. I hope my darling Levi will love it. And his family. Ugh. I just think I look a bit too pudgy today, that's all," she pouted.</p><p>The baron and his youngest shared a look, causing him to burst into an eye-squinting smile and the little girl to start giggling uncontrollably once again.</p><p>Before Swift could ask what they were so amused about, a young man in an elegant tailored suit entered the room with a purpose, his back straight and chin up. He looked very much the younger version of their father, though the young man's nose wasn't as pronounced. And he was maybe trying a little too hard to act like a proud noble with his chest puffed up a little too much.</p><p>The young man inclined his head and bowed at the waist ever so slightly as he greeted them. "Father. Sisters."</p><p>"Goodness! Is the whole family <em>except</em> for mother going to end up in this room?" asked Swift as she gestured to her maids to help her out of the gown. No need to wear it yet since the banquet was still several hours from starting. Beside, she risked dirtying or damaging it if she kept wearing it now.</p><p>"Hi Agile!" greeted Adroit, who was placed back on her feet as her father put her down gently. She hugged her froggy doll and leaned against her father's leg as she eyed her brother.</p><p>"How's my favorite little sister doing?" Agile smiled warmly at her.</p><p>Adroit beamed, but then her smile faltered as she realized something. "But I'm your only little sister!"</p><p>Agile gave her a cheeky smirk and winked at her as she pouted while the rest of their family laughed.</p><p>Standing up straight, the baron regarded his eldest son with a look of curiosity. "What brings you here, Agile?" He placed a hand on the little girl's head, rubbing it affectionately.</p><p>"I've just received word that we will be having a very special guest for tonight's banquet. Apparently it was a last minute decision to attend," he grinned slowly as he spoke, not saying who it was just yet. His eyes scanned the room, taking in their looks of curiosity. He did always have a flair for the dramatic.</p><p>"Well, spit it out then! Who's this special guest?" asked Swift impatiently, pausing from taking off the gown and causing the maids to stop as well. She had taken the words right out of her father's mouth, which he closed since she had beaten him to it.</p><p>Everyone in the room waited for him to reveal this mysterious special guest. Even the maids seemed to be holding their collective breaths. Clearly it was someone important enough for him to bring it up this way.</p><p>"Tonight, we will be graced by the presence of His Royal Highness, Prince Jircniv Rune Farlord El Nix!"</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>xxxxXxxxx</b>
</p><p> </p><p>Chief Thomas Sprigg turned out to be a lot younger than Lucifer thought. He had been expecting the chief to be like the stereotypical village elder normally found in villages like this in all the games and media that he was exposed to in his original world. He imagined an old, bent-over man with long flowing robes and thinning white hair, a weathered and wrinkled stern face, and eyes that shone with wisdom. Everything he said would be taken as sage advice, and he might even speak in riddles.</p><p>That was not the case here in Woodhaven. Chief Sprigg looked to be no older than forty, had good posture, and wore a floral-patterned shirt that kind of reminded Lucifer of Hawaiian shirts back in his previous world. His brown pants looked thin and breathable, which was understandable given how nice and warm it was today. He was standing outside his house, basking in the sunlight, when Cheshire and Lucifer walked up to him.</p><p>The chief was far shorter than Lucifer, though taller than Cheshire, with a thick mane of curly dark green hair that kind of poofed up almost like an afro. Or an impressive dark green bird's nest. His eyebrows and the stubble on his face were dark brown though, and his eyes were the color of auburn.</p><p>There were some lines on his forehead and around his eyes and mouth that showed he was certainly no spring chicken. His eyes did have a glint to them, but one of mischief rather than wisdom. He was dark-skinned, though some of it seemed to have been from sun exposure, and was a bit on the chubby side. He appeared to be eating quite well.</p><p>"Well isn't this a surprise? I thought this beautiful day couldn't get any prettier, and yet here you are Cheshire!" said the chief with a friendly tone. He seemed to be in good spirits.</p><p><em>Damn, that was a nice line... I think I'm going to steal it, </em>thought Lucifer, nodding his head approvingly.</p><p>"Ohhh, stop teasing me, Chief! Especially in front of a guest," pouted the redhead, crossing her arms and looking embarrassed. Though from the way she took his words, it seemed to be a normal exchange between the two.</p><p>With a laugh and a big smile, the chief pulled her into a warm hug that she begrudgingly reciprocated, still pouting. Pulling apart, he asked, "So what brings you and your guest here to me on such a fine day?"</p><p>"My father and I met this traveler last night and we thought it would be good to introduce you two. He's from very far away, and he was hoping that you'd be able to help him and answer some questions that we couldn't," answered Cheshire.</p><p>"A traveler from very far away?" The chief's eyes pointedly fell on Lucifer. "You seem like you'd be an adventurer, but I see that you're not. Well how do you do, good sir? Welcome to Woodhaven! You've probably already been told, but my name is Thomas Sprigg and I'm the chief of our humble village."</p><p>"A pleasure to meet you, Chief Sprigg," Lucifer dipped his head and bowed slightly, "My name is Lucifer Morningstar, but you may call me Lucifer."</p><p>Beaming at him, the chief said, "Well, you've definitely got some manners on you. Lucifer, was it? Hmm... Please, call me Chief. Everyone else here does. Now come on inside and I'll serve us some refreshments. I have a feeling we'll be talking for a while."</p><p>Similar to the Ingolde household, the interior was sparsely furnished. For the most part there were only the bare necessities. Although the chief's home was definitely bigger, and thus had a more spacious interior, it was more evident that there just wasn't enough stuff to fill the space adequately. There was a lot of room to add more things, that was for sure.</p><p>Lucifer surmised that while the town of Woodhaven was likely self-sufficient and was, as Svar had mentioned, safe from danger, it was not a very prosperous village. He wondered how other settlements were like compared to Woodhaven, and he also wondered how many villagers there were and what the main source of income was for everyone here.</p><p>Looking around, there were a few things that indicated the Spriggs were slightly more wealthy than the Ingoldes. Like a big fur rug in the living room and some interesting artwork on the walls – the Ingoldes had no artwork on the walls at all. The furniture was of a higher quality too, among other things.</p><p>Chief Sprigg served tea, water, and some bread and fresh fruits as they sat down at the sizable dining table in the dining room next to the kitchen.</p><p>"So tell me, what would you like to know?" the chief asked, staring straight at Lucifer.</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>xxxxXxxxx</b>
</p><p> </p><p>There was a moment of complete silence as everyone watched with baited breath.</p><p>She settled into her stance, knees slightly bent, balance perfectly on the balls of her feet. Her lime green eyes narrowed, focusing solely on her targets. With a breath, she thrust forward and back in one smooth motion with the spear she had been holding firmly in her hands.</p><p>She did this three consecutive times, each move almost too quick to follow with the naked eye. It pierced the air in front of her with frightening speed, slicing through the two apples on each shoulder and the one on top of the head of the man bravely, and perhaps a little foolishly, standing in front of her.</p><p>Each apple exploded as the spear made contact, and the man who stood there shaking in his boots was left largely unscathed. His cloak had some minor tears on his shoulders, and a few strands of stray hair had been sliced in half, but otherwise he was fine.</p><p>Drenched in sweat, he collapsed to his knees in relief as his friends came to congratulate him on surviving the ordeal. Thankfully, he had managed not to piss himself.</p><p>The crowd around her roared and the blonde warrior allowed herself a smile as she bathed in the cheers and adulation of the onlookers. She raised a triumphant fist in the air, eliciting another roar of approval.</p><p>Cries of how amazing she was rang through the air, along with the odd marriage proposal, all of it accompanied by joyful grins and roaring laughter. Everyone's spirits were high and the camp echoed with the sounds of toasts and merrymaking.</p><p>"I know I've said this before, but you certainly are amazing, Lady Leinas!" said a familiar cheery voice from behind her.</p><p>"She wasn't even trying that hard, Jethro," another familiar voice added in a matter-of-fact tone. "She didn't even use any martial arts, you know."</p><p>Turning around, Leinas grinned as she beheld two of her closest and most trusted subordinates, Jethro and Triston. For the last three years they had fought numerous battles together against all sorts of foul beasts across the Rockbruise family lands, which pressed up against the northern edge of the Beliore Mountains. It was in and around the edges of these mountains that the monsters were appearing, and there were more of them than normal in recent months.</p><p>Anytime monsters decided to show themselves, it was Leinas and her soldiers who were sent to dispatch them. Her exploits were already making her name known across the Empire and there were whispers of her martial prowess at the capital. Her faithful lieutenants knew it was only a matter of time before she was called up by the capital to serve a higher purpose, and they were happy to be there to support her through it all.</p><p>As she was out there slaying monsters and spreading her fame, her family gained influence and wealth thanks to her efforts, which was to be expected of every member of the Rockbruise family. It would not be boastful of her to say that she was lifting up the family name the most out of her entire family at this point in time, not that her family would openly acknowledge such a fact.</p><p>Particularly her father, the Viscount Linus Rockbruise.</p><p>"Hey you two," she greeted them, accepting a mug of ale that Jethro had brought her and taking a quick sip.</p><p>"Honestly, my lady, I don't understand why you put on such shows. It's a waste of your energy and talents if you ask me," said Triston disapprovingly and crossing his arms.</p><p>His jet black hair was cut short and well-kept like a proper soldier, and even though the camp was currently in the middle of a feast, he still had his full uniform on as well as his armor. His weapon, a giant two-handed battle ax that looked almost too unwieldy to use, was strapped across his back.</p><p>"Relax, big guy," answered Jethro with a wave of his hand at the soldier, "It's good for morale, team building, and inspiration. Plus, it's just super cool. Ain't that right, Lady Leinas?" He raised his mug to salute her.</p><p>With wavy brown hair, a rugged and tanned complexion, and dark eyes, Jethro was a hit with the ladies in the looks department alone. His laid-back and cool attitude was simply icing on a very nice cake for most women.</p><p>Unlike Triston, Jethro did not have a weapon in sight and only wore his undershirt and pants as if he were simply relaxing at home, which technically the camp was their home. Though he did keep his armored boots on.</p><p>"It does seem to make the men happy," conceded Leinas as she admired the revelries of the camp around her.</p><p>"Tch... like I said, I don't understand," Triston repeated, "They should be happy just to be in the mere presence of Lady Leinas, let alone fighting alongside her. They shouldn't need paltry tricks that make our lady look like some show animal."</p><p>"Are you saying my tricks are paltry, Triston? And that I'm a show animal?" Leinas raised one of her thin eyebrows as she looked at him menacingly.</p><p>Sweat seemed to form almost instantly on Triston's forehead as he looked away, unable to meet her gaze. "Well, uh... no. Of course not, Lady Leinas. It... It was not my intent to insult you in such a manner, and I deeply apologize for my poor choice of words."</p><p>Jethro placed a hand on Triston's shoulder guard. "You know, it sounds to me like your panties are all up in a wad and you need to let off some steam. Why don't you go do something useful and swing that big ax of yours far away from camp? Maybe cut us up some more firewood while you're at it. Chop chop!"</p><p>Triston shrugged the man's hand off, glaring at him. "How about I swing my ax here and cut you down instead?"</p><p>"You <em>would </em>attack a defenseless man."</p><p>"W-What?! What are you implying?!" Triston growled and reached a hand back to grip the handle of his ax as he stepped menacingly towards Jethro, who had a bemused expression that further infuriated the armored man.</p><p>"Me? I wouldn't dare imp-"</p><p>"Come on now boys," she rapped them both on the head with the butt of her spear, tiring of their bickering. "Play nice. I'm in a good mood right now. Try not to ruin that with your antics."</p><p>"Ow!" they both said, rubbing their heads and sharing one last glare at each other before they bowed their heads in obedience.</p><p>"Yes ma'am," they said in near-perfect unison.</p><p>Their interactions were often like this, since their personalities were so different, but despite their arguing there was no doubt that they respected and cared for each other as true comrades-in-arms should.</p><p>"Alright good. Now then, let's get drunk!" Leinas cried as she chugged the rest of her ale, Jethro following suit with enthusiasm.</p><p>With a heavy sigh, Triston bowed to Leinas and then walked off since he had no interest in drinking or merrymaking at the moment.</p><p>"I'll be checking the perimeter," he said as he moved away, waving a hand back towards them in parting.</p><p>Jethro waved back at the armored soldier's retreating form, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. "Is it me, or is he extra grumpy today?"</p><p>"Leave him be, Jethro. You know how he is. It's just his nature to be more serious. Now, be a good boy and get me some more ale," replied the blonde as she shoved her empty mug into his hands.</p><p>"Right away, my lady!" Jethro said with a grin.</p><p>Holding her spear to the side, she rested the butt of it on the ground as she surveyed her troops once again.</p><p>They would probably need to take tomorrow off as well to recover from today's libations, but she believed that they deserved it. The most recent battle resulted in some minor casualties, but they had been the first casualties since the operation to clear this area of monsters began four days ago, which was something to be commended. There had been a lot of monsters here. More than they had expected. But they took care of them all the same.</p><p>Still, it rankled her that three soldiers had been killed and fifteen more wounded. Four of them grievous enough that she dispatched them to the nearest Temple with the utmost haste since the healers she had in her troop weren't skilled enough to do a proper job.</p><p>She figured the casualties were the result of them pushing themselves so hard the last few days. Maybe they had also gotten a bit reckless due to overconfidence since they had been doing very well with no casualties up to that point. They were going to need to be more cautious going forward, especially since their numbers had now been diminished somewhat.</p><p>Gripping her spear tighter, she prayed to the Four Gods that there wouldn't be any more deaths before this operation was finished.</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>xxxxXxxxx</b>
</p><p> </p><p>"Your highness," the voice called, echoing in the darkness, "Your highness, please wake up." It was a soothing, gentle voice from far away. So very far away. It called him repeatedly, patiently, never fluctuating in tone. There was neither panic nor anger present in this voice. Only duty.</p><p>Once more it called, closer this time, and finally, the prince stirred from his slumber.</p><p>"My apologies, your highness," said the butler, Peter, placing his arm across his chest and bowing. "We are almost at the Anoch Estate."</p><p>With a yawn, the prince sat up and rubbed the sleep from his eyes. Blinking, his gaze scanned the room.</p><p>The carriage they were riding in was luxurious, as befitting a prince like him, with a plush interior designed for maximum comfort and opulence. The dominant color was red, but there was plenty of gold present as well. Real gold. There were two benches opposite each other in the carriage, and the prince had been reclining on the one facing forward. The other bench, facing the rear of the carriage, was occupied by two people.</p><p>There was Peter, the old butler who had served Prince Jircniv for as long as he could remember, wearing his usual black and white suit. His dark brown eyes observed his master with keen interest, as if trying to read his thoughts in the hopes that he could serve him without needing to be told what to do. It actually worked about half the time.</p><p>The third occupant of the carriage was a knight clad in full plate armor that was dyed black with gold and red outlines. Closer examination of the armor would reveal it to be made of reinforced adamantite. In fact, all of the knight's equipment were adamantite works of the highest quality. Even though it had cost a small fortune, the Emperor spared no expense to protect the young prince and the money had flowed freely and without regret.</p><p>His name was Baziwood Peshmel. He cut an imposing figure even without his armor, with his large frame and finely toned thick muscles. He had long blonde hair slicked back and tied into a ponytail behind him, with a blonde goatee on his wide, chiseled face. Steady deep blue eyes looked out into the world with a mixture of mirth and danger.</p><p>He looked every bit the warrior that he actually was.</p><p>"Your highness," greeted the knight with a bow of his head, fist going up to his chest in salute. His voice was like granite, deep and strong.</p><p>The young prince nodded to him in acknowledgement. "How much longer?"</p><p>"About ten minutes, your highness. The sun is already beginning to set," replied the butler without hesitation, as if he had been expecting the question.</p><p>The prince glanced towards the door closest to him, the red and gold curtains covering it up.</p><p>Taking his cue, Peter reached forward and pulled the curtains aside, revealing the door with a window facing the sunset.</p><p>A shaft of orange-gold light entered the room, and it brightened considerably inside, causing everyone present to blink as their eyes adjusted.</p><p>Prince Jircniv leaned forward to get a better view, placing his elbow on the armrest next to him and resting his chin on the knuckles of his upright fist. He liked to watch the sunset from his room at the estate, which faced west. All the different colors in the sky made it seem like there was a celebration going on in the heavens, as if rejoicing that another day had come and gone. With the radiant and shining sun going to rest for a while before returning to once again give life and warmth to the world.</p><p>His father once told him that he wanted Jircniv to be like the sun to the Empire. A beacon of hope and a shining example of strength that brought life and warmth to all its citizens. A light to guide the Empire into a better, brighter future.</p><p>No pressure at all, he mused.</p><p>Speaking of his father, Jircniv hadn't seen him in almost six weeks. The prince hardly left the estate, even when his father wasn't ill, since the Emperor would come to visit him instead. While he was not expressly forbidden from leaving, it was implied that he should remain on the estate grounds unless called on. However, ever since his father had gotten sick, the young prince had been journeying every couple of weeks back-and-forth to the palace to visit.</p><p>Every time Jircniv left the estate, the more he wanted to explore his country. To see for himself the Empire that his father had built, and the one that he, Prince Jircniv Rune Farlord el Nix, was meant to rule.</p><p>A few large bumps in the road caused them all to stumble a little, breaking the young prince out of his reverie. With the barest of scowls, he spoke, "The state of these roads is completely unacceptable."</p><p>The two other servants could only nod their agreement. While the prince had been sleeping, they had encountered several other rough patches of road, which thankfully the prince managed to sleep through, almost impressively actually.</p><p>The upkeep and maintenance of the roads were the responsibility of the nobles whose lands they passed through. Some of them simply couldn't afford to maintain all their roads, instead focusing on the ones that were used the most, while other nobles blatantly didn't care.</p><p>With a sigh, the feeling of irritation quickly passed and the prince's face relaxed. His purple eyes landed on Baziwood, who had closed his eyes as if to sleep. Not that he actually would in the presence of the prince. The knight was there to protect him after all.</p><p>"Tell me, Bazi. If you had not become a knight in my service, would you have registered as an adventurer?" asked Jircniv.</p><p>Normally, knighthoods were only granted to the ranks of the nobility or those soldiers in the Imperial Army who truly distinguished themselves in service to the Empire, but the Emperor made a special exception at the insistence of the young prince for the talented warrior that sitting in front of him.</p><p>Prince Jircniv, unlike many of the nobility, was well aware that the status of one's birth did not define their talents, skills, or potential. He had learned that lesson not only from books, but from seeing it for himself in the ranks of the adventurers or even the merchants of the Empire, many of whom had no trace of noble blood in their veins and yet were successful in their fields. And there were many examples of these commoners being superior to a noble in an equivalent situation or position.</p><p>Not to mention there were many advances in technology and magic brought about by scholars and magicians who were also of common birth. The Imperial Court Wizard and Headmaster of the Imperial Magic Academy, Fluder Paradyne, was one such example. As a genius spellcaster who could wield magic of the Fifth Tier, he was arguably the most powerful man in the known world, and he was born a commoner.</p><p>Baziwood had been born and raised in the back alleys and shadowy parts of Oldaven. Growing up in those rough streets was what taught him how to survive and fight, and over time he discovered that he had a talent for it. Seeing an opportunity to escape his life of hardship on the streets, he honed his skills until he became a gladiator in the arena of that city, where his abilities drew attention and even sponsorship from some minor nobles.</p><p>The Arenas operated in all the major cities of the Empire, with the Grand Arena in the capital city of Arwintar being the biggest and most prestigious of them all. It was there that the Martial Lord, the champion of the Grand Arena and mightiest of gladiators, defended their title from any would-be challengers. And the current champion, Kullervo Palantyen, also known as "Corrosive Wolf," was so far undefeated for the last three years.</p><p>In the Arena, warriors fought each other or against captured beasts for the entertainment of both the masses and the nobility that observed them. Gambling on the fights was expected and totally legal, and many fortunes were made or lost. While barbaric, the Arena served the dual purpose of distracting the plebeians with blood sport and entertaining the nobles with something interesting and exciting, while also providing a way for warriors of notable skill to be noticed.</p><p>However, none have ever been noticed to the extent that they were granted a knighthood until Baziwood, and his was really a special case.</p><p>Usually what would happen is that any noteworthy combatants would be sponsored by a noble or a wealthy merchant as an adventurer or worker, or hired privately, or simply be forever remembered in history as stories and songs were told of their deeds. Some even made a career of it, relishing the constant challenge and the ensuing adulation they received from the audiences. If a fighter was good enough, there was decent coin to be made in the Arena after all.</p><p>Unfortunately, or perhaps fortunately, Baziwood never made it to the Grand Arena since, by fate or luck, he was granted knighthood and entered Prince Jircniv's service after the young prince witnessed his battles at the arena in Oldaven, the closest major city to the estate where the prince made his home.</p><p>Baziwood scratched his goatee, his gaze drifting upwards as he thought about the question the prince had asked.</p><p>"I might've given it a try, your highness. I think I'd make a pretty good adventurer, and their life is truly one of thrill and excitement. But you already know it's been my dream since I was a little kid to become a distinguished knight of the Empire. If your graciousness had not seen fit to grant me such a privilege, I probably would've ended up in the Imperial Military in the hopes of achieving knighthood down that path," he answered honestly and seriously. "And I'm sorry for repeating myself, but know that I'm forever in your debt because you allowed me to achieve my dream." He bowed his head in gratitude after the last statement.</p><p>While technically possible, since knighthoods have been granted to distinguished soldiers who had accomplished commendable feats in the name of the Empire before, it would have taken a long time for him to achieve that. Even with a man of Baziwood's talent. Because it was likely that much of his time and efforts would have been wasted in meaningless assignments if he had been in the military.</p><p>"I appreciate your honesty, Bazi," the prince replied, pausing for a second to think. "I understand that achieving one's dream is something to be truly happy and proud of, but isn't it also sad? Because then what is next? If you have done what you have always dreamed to do, what more is there? And in accomplishing your dream, did that mean your dream was too easy? Was it somehow too low a bar to set? Conversely, what is the worth in chasing a dream that will always be beyond your reach?"</p><p>The knight looked quizzically at his master, turning to Peter for assistance. The butler could only shrug.</p><p>"I seem to have waxed a bit too poetic," the prince said with a tinge of humor in his steady voice, "To put it plainly, now that you have achieved your dream of knighthood... what do you dream of achieving next, Bazi? What do you strive for now? Surely you have another dream that you wish to accomplish?"</p><p>A look of understanding crossed the warrior's face, and he grinned. "Well that's easy enough to answer. My dream now is to continue to strengthen myself so as to best serve you, your highness. To do what I can to make <em>your</em> dreams come true."</p><p>Prince Jircniv actually smiled at that. "I expected no less from my knight." In truth, Baziwood was indeed the first knight in the young prince's service. The other guards that were assigned to him were all loyal Imperial Guards, but none of them were knights.</p><p>"Bazi, humor me one more question: what rank do you think you would receive if you were to join the Adventurer's Guild now?"</p><p>Again, Baziwood scratched his chin in thought, then with a wolfish grin he said, "Probably Platinum at minimum. I'd say Orichalcum is more likely. Hard to say right now since I haven't done anything to truly test my strength lately."</p><p>"Not Adamantite?" The look of surprise on the prince's face passed almost as quickly as it had come, and the two other occupants in the carriage weren't sure if their eyes deceived them or not. It was a rare sight to see the young prince surprised.</p><p>Baziwood let out a hearty laugh. "I wouldn't presume to be on par with those fools just yet. To be Adamantite, a warrior must truly distinguish themselves in a feat worthy of legends. Their power is beyond most mortals. While my exploits in the arena were memorable and praise-worthy, and I am confident in my abilities, I know that I have yet to make such a mark on the world. That is why there are so few Adamantite ranked adventurers in the first place, and I respect that. Any warrior worth their salt would."</p><p>"I see," the prince said.</p><p>Baziwood had a gleam in his eye as he said the next few words, "But if given the chance, I wouldn't hesitate to take my place among them as peers."</p><p>Prince Jircniv looked out at the passing landscape, bathed now in the orange glow of the setting sun.</p><p><em>Well Baziwood,</em> he thought, <em>you might get your chance soon enough. I will need your strength in the days to come.</em></p><p>A heavy knocking sound emanated from the front of the carriage, a sign from the carriage driver, which prompted Peter to speak up.</p><p>"It seems we are finally arriving, your highness."</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>*Adroit's name uses the French Pronunciation: Adroit (A-Dwah)</p><p>**Agile (A-geel)</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Chapter 5</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Lucifer emerged from the chief's home, noting that the sun was already beginning to dip below the horizon.</p><p>How many hours had he spent talking with the chief? It had certainly been a long while, but it wasn't something he had really thought to pay attention to.</p><p>He vaguely recalled Cheshire excusing herself at some point to go take care of some chores and prepare supper. That seemed like some time ago. If he had been human, his body would have undoubtedly been extremely stiff by the time he stepped out of there, and yet he felt no ill-effects at all.</p><p>"There's no rush, but I do hope you consider my special request, Lucifer. And if you ever need anything else from me, just ask. I am at your service," the Chief said with a smile as he stood by the front door.</p><p>"I will keep that in mind. Thank you again for your time, Chief. You have been most helpful," Lucifer responded with a slight nod before he walked away.</p><p>His mind was churning with all the new information he had been given. The chief had turned out to be far more knowledgeable of this world than Lucifer had initially thought, and definitely more helpful than Svar, which was why he had spent such a long time conversing with him.</p><p>Though it wasn't physically taxing in any way, it had been a mentally exhausting but necessary ordeal.</p><p>Chief Sprigg had apparently traveled across much of the known world once upon a time. The old man claimed that it was not some grand quest or anything of the sort that compelled him to go out into the world. He had simply wanted to see the world in his younger days, and so he set off on his own – with his family's blessing – and traveled as far as he could for a few years before returning home.</p><p>The Chief told Lucifer all he could of his travels. He spent a few years in the Kingdom of Re-Estize and a couple of months in the Dragon Kingdom. He recounted his brief foray into the lands of the Slane Theocracy and of particular interest and entertainment was his trip through the Azerlisia Mountains with some friendly dwarves on the way back home to Woodhaven. The man unfortunately was unable to make it all the way out to the Holy Kingdom far to the west, nor was he able to get to the Argland Council State in the far northwest corner of the region, where a council of dragons ruled a country full of non-humans and demi-humans.</p><p>Lucifer had learned some things about the religions in this world too, specifically about the Six Great Gods and the Four Great Gods. Then there were the Thirteen Heroes; The Eight Greed Kings; The Dragon Lords; Demon Lords and Demon Gods. It was a lot to take in all at once, but he was glad he was informed of these historical figures because from what he was told of their feats and powers, they were possibly former players of YGGDRASIL too like himself. Though supposedly long dead now.</p><p>Of course, it was impossible to know for sure if they really were YGGDRASIL players, but Lucifer had his suspicions. That being said, it was not out of the question that there might currently be other players that were transported to this world besides himself. From what he had learned about history in this new world, players seemed to get into conflict with one another, so it really was for the best to keep to the shadows until he identified other players, figured out their motives, and strengthened his own position before he sought to engage them.</p><p>Especially now that he had found out that while resurrection magic did exist in this world, it was actually quite rare. So rare, in fact, that currently no one in the Empire could perform such a feat, at least not to the Chief's knowledge. Not even the great Fluder Paradyne, the Imperial Court Wizard, who was supposedly the strongest magic caster alive in the world, but that was probably less about a lack of talent or power and more because the wizard had chosen to learn other spells rather than those of the healing and support types.</p><p>Lucifer thought it prudent to investigate this Fluder character for himself since there was a chance that maybe he was a player too.</p><p>Their discussion then went briefly over commerce and money. The currency here was in coins made of precious metals, and they were split into copper, silver, and gold, which was unsurprising to Lucifer. It was, he thought, a typical currency system for a world like this. By contrast, in YGGDRASIL the only currency was gold coins, of which Lucifer had plenty of.</p><p>The Chief thankfully had a weighing scale, and luckily enough a gold coin secreted away somewhere – Lucifer was told that a typical family could live well for a month off of three gold coins, and with the scale Lucifer found that the YGGDRASIL gold coins he carried around with him were actually worth double the gold coins in this new world, simply because it was bigger and heavier. Handling the coins might draw unwanted attention to himself, however, so he figured that he would refrain from using them for now. Which was a pain because it did mean that he was effectively broke at the moment.</p><p>While finding out more about geography, politics, history, and economics from the chief was definitely very helpful to Lucifer, along with the two new maps now safely stored in his inventory, he still needed more pertinent information on magic power and fighting strength in this new world. Which meant a trip to Oldaven and the Adventurer's Guild was in order, as well as the branch of the Imperial Magic Academy located in the city. He figured he might as well visit one of the Temples there while he was at it so that he could see firsthand how they operated.</p><p>He was amused at the thought that he was technically going on quests as if he were still in the game of YGGDRASIL.</p><p>He quickly stopped by the Ingolde residence where a dismayed Cheshire made him promise to visit again soon after he told her that he was leaving for Oldaven immediately. Svar was not home yet, so Lucifer bade Cheshire to thank her father for him for all his help too. Promising to repay them for their kindness, he left the frowning girl behind, wondering briefly why she was so upset at his departure. They barely knew each other.</p><p>With his goodbyes settled, he started walking down the main road that went south west as the dark of night began to settle around him, the last vestiges of light from the setting sun disappearing over the horizon.</p><p>As he walked, he realized that he hadn't really seen any of the other villagers until then as he passed a few who gave him curious looks, cautiously keeping a safe distance away from him. He merely nodded in greeting to them as he pressed on.</p><p>The chief had mentioned the village of Woodhaven was quite small with only a few dozen residents grouped into eleven families, a far cry from the thousands and millions that lived in bigger settlements.</p><p>After a while, the village was no longer in sight behind him and once he was far enough away he turned off the road. Walking through some tall grass that went up past his ankles, he made his way towards a couple of nearby hills. His <strong>[</strong>True Sight<strong>]</strong> allowed him to see clear as day even as the night fully took hold, and his impeccable balance and strong legs meant he could walk as smoothly as if he had been walking on even pavement.</p><p>When he could no longer see the road after cresting the first small hill and entering into the shadows of a clump of trees and shrubs, he extended his wings out with a little effort, eliciting a whooshing sound as they unfurled. The majestic feathery wings flexed back and forth for a moment as he eyed them with a grin. Definitely one of the best parts of this whole strange situation was being able to fully experience the exhilaration of flying.</p><p>He swept the area with a studious gaze once more, making sure there wasn't anyone nearby that might see him. Then, leaping into the air, he beat his wings and took flight, accelerating up into the mostly clear starry night sky.</p><p>Relishing the wind on his skin and the feeling of hurtling through the empty expanse of sky, he angled himself to fly south west, towards where the city of Oldaven was supposed to be. He made sure to keep an eye on the ground rushing by below him, in particular the main road that his flight path was parallel to, in case he caught sight of anything interesting.</p><p>It didn't take long for him to sight the myriad of lights clumped together on the horizon, far more and denser than the ones at Woodhaven. Squinting, he could make out the sprawling city ahead with its hundreds of stone structures. Some of them were impressively grand, and one structure in particular near the center of the city appeared to be a coliseum.</p><p>That was the city arena, where gladiator battles were apparently held. He pictured the movie Gladiator in his mind and wondered if it was a similar scene - blood, sweat, and dust. Warriors screaming out to the crowd and asking them if they were entertained. Roaring crowds and the rush of excitement and cheers filling the air. He would definitely have to check that out before he was done with his business here.</p><p>Next to it was a square castle, which Lucifer thought probably belonged to the noble who was in charge of the city.</p><p>Two concentric walls protected the city, one that encircled the outer perimeter and one that was further in. By his estimation, both were at least thirty feet high. On the walls he saw the lights from the torches of the soldiers patrolling, and from this distance it looked like a city of fairies or fireflies with all the lights twinkling and moving. He wished he had a camera or something to take a snapshot of this moment.</p><p>When he got closer, Lucifer started to look for a secluded place to land. Somewhere far enough from any potential watchful eyes, but not too far since he would be traveling the rest of the way on foot. It was as he was scanning the area below him that he noticed something peculiar. He thought it might have been his imagination at first, but a closer look proved that his eyes were not in fact deceiving him.</p><p>The eastern outskirts of the city were comprised of several large farms, and out in the crop fields of one of the farthest farms there was a group of what looked to be three armed men dragging a bound person behind them. He wasn't entirely sure what was going on, but something told him it wasn't anything good.</p><p>He angled and circled around high overhead, debating with himself whether or not to intervene as they continued to drag their prey through the dirt. Every now and again, one of the thugs would kick the captive. He imagined they weren't saying anything pleasant while they were doing this, and he frowned.</p><p>According to the Chief, slavery was not only legal, but widely practiced in the Empire and other countries. A large part of the agricultural workforce was slave labor, so it was only logical to conclude that the scene below had something to do with it. Perhaps it was a case of masters punishing a disobedient slave. The citizens of the Empire didn't seem to think slavery was anything wrong, and in fact their Empire relied on that slave labor to function.</p><p>What he was witnessing could very well be within the realm of legality and acceptable behavior in this world.</p><p>What troubled Lucifer was how almost clinical he was observing the scene below. While he did feel some semblance of disgust and disdain for what was going on, particularly because of how helpless and defenseless their captive was, he didn't feel a strong enough urge to intervene even though his mind was telling him that it was the right thing to do to put a stop their harsh treatment of the hapless slave.</p><p>Was it perhaps a byproduct of this new body and the fact that he was not physically human anymore? Or was it simply because this had absolutely nothing to do with him in the first place so he shouldn't care? Especially since slavery was legal in the first place.</p><p>
  <em>What do I do? Why don't I feel compelled to help?</em>
</p><p>On the one hand, he could keep flying and ignore this incident. He might not feel so great about it initially, but he wouldn't be sticking his nose in other people's business either and potentially inciting attention and revenge from that party. He'd probably forget about it after a few days and go on with his life. Plus, he'd be able to get started right away on getting more information as well as potentially signing up for the Adventurer's Guild. He had no idea what time they closed, or even what time it currently was, but he knew it was getting quite late in the evening.</p><p>On the other hand, if he were to intervene, he would kick some bad guy ass and definitely save someone's life in the process, or at least ease their suffering, and that would make him feel pretty good as a hero of sorts. Perhaps this person or their loved ones could pay him back with a reward of some kind. Plus he <em>did</em> want to test out his powers and strength at some point.</p><p>He looked towards the city and then back down at the four figures moving through the field, feeling torn. A part of him wanted to move on, and another part of him wanted to help, and neither part felt more strongly than the other. He had to make a choice.</p><p>Who was he, an outsider from another world, to force these people to change their culture and way of life? Besides, it's not like he was going to be some champion for abolishing slavery or anything. That seemed like way too much work and way more complicated a task than he was comfortable signing up for.</p><p>Still, he continued to circle over the field like some bird of prey, unable to decide on a course of action. He kept an eye on the people below who never suspected for a moment that they were being watched from above.</p><p>They appeared to be making their way towards a cluster of buildings on one side of the farm. They kicked their defenseless captive again, he thought for the sixth time now, and it was actually getting to the point that it was starting to annoy Lucifer.</p><p>He sighed. But who was he to think he could just barge into this world and tell people what to do and what not to do? He was a plain 29 year old banker with practically no social life and definitely no family. He was a gamer who was simply caught up in whatever mess this was.</p><p>Clucking his tongue, he glanced up at the stars, breathing in the cool evening air as his hair ruffled in the wind.</p><p>No. He was wrong. In this world he was no longer just a twenty-nine year old banker or a simple gamer. He was Lucifer Morningstar, the Lightbringer, also known as Samael, the Angel of Death, the pinnacle of angelic might who was second only to God himself, and who sought to be a god in his own right. A figure both good and evil who did whatever he desired because he was free and had the power to do so.</p><p>He looked down at both of his hands, his fingers curling as he balled them into fists. They were shaking, and he realized his body had begun to tingle with energy. In the back of his mind he could feel his power straining to surge forth, as if reminding him that he wasn't actually a helpless bystander anymore. Reminding him that he was no longer his powerless old self who could do nothing about the situation even if he wanted to do something.</p><p>This was no longer a game. This wasn't even his old life either. This... This was his new reality now.</p><p>What did that really mean? He wasn't entirely certain of that just yet. But what he did know was that at that very moment he decided he wanted to intervene in the situation he was witnessing below and he had the power to do so, even though he didn't actually <em>feel </em>compelled to do so, he would do it because he wanted to.</p><p>"RAAAAGGHHHH!" he roared like some wild beast, his body feeling the electric rush of raw power as his mana overflowed for a few seconds.</p><p>He couldn't remember that ever happening in YGGDRASIL, and he wasn't entirely sure why it happened now, but it felt pretty good. Kind of intoxicating too.</p><p>His <strong>[</strong>Divine Aura<strong>]</strong> was abruptly unleashed and the energy exploded around him in a rush of brilliant white light. His hair fluttered every which way as a whirlwind seemed to envelope him for a few seconds from the release of energy. His body continued to glow, and to anyone who was witnessing this it was as if one of the stars in the heavens had descended upon the world in all its shining glory.</p><p>It took him a handful of seconds to grab his helmet from his inventory and put it on. He realized too late that this was all probably attracting a lot of attention in the middle of the night. The best thing he could do now was to finish this business quickly and get back to going incognito.</p><p>Golden eyes shining like miniature suns, his gaze focused far below to the ground beneath him, and to the three unsuspecting thugs that were now looking up at him with fear.</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>xxxxXxxxx</b>
</p><p> </p><p>Accompanied by a dozen Imperial Guardsmen on horseback, the magnificent red and gold carriage rolled to a stop in the main courtyard of the Anoch Mansion, where a contingent of soldiers in formation were headed by a small group of nobles to welcome their esteemed guest.</p><p>The carriage itself, while beautiful by design, with high quality materials and expert craftsmanship, was actually overshadowed by the magnificence of the beasts that were pulling it.</p><p>Two sleipnirs, magical horses with eight powerful legs, stood tall and majestic with their dark coats lightly covered in sweat. Each one had the speed and strength of five horses put together. They were noticeably bigger than the warhorses the Guardsmen were riding, and those horses were the best of the top breeds in the Empire, chosen for their size, strength, and speed.</p><p>A murmur went over the gathered crowd as they admired the rare beasts, for even among the wealthy and powerful nobility of the Baharuth Empire, it was rare to see one, let alone own one. Only the Imperial Family, the Five Great Nobles, and a handful of other noble families had these majestic creatures.</p><p>Two of the Guardsmen dismounted, flanking either side of the carriage door closest to the mansion's main entrance. One of them moved to open the door, stepping aside as he swung it open.</p><p>First to emerge was a big knight in full adamantite plate, his helmet tucked under his arm as he surveyed the area with keen blue eyes. He stepped aside to reveal a slim gentleman in the garb of a butler, who also stepped to the side. Once they were in position, they bowed and taking their cue the crowd followed suit.</p><p>Only the two Guardsmen by the carriage did not bow as they kept vigilant watch over their charge.</p><p>Prince Jircniv stepped out slowly, observing the scene before him with a neutral expression. His sandals touched the flat stone ground of the courtyard and he walked forward with a confidence that made him seem taller and older than he actually was.</p><p>His subordinates, the butler and the knight, stood straight and followed in his wake as the group stopped before a small line of nobles.</p><p>The prince recognized the Anoch family immediately, along with a handful of other nobles right behind them. He sauntered towards them, back straight and chin up.</p><p>"We are honored that you have graced us with your presence, your highness," greeted Baron Anoch, still in a deep bow, "We humbly apologize if our hospitality does not meet the level fit for a person of your status."</p><p>"Rise," the boy commanded, and everyone stood tall once again. "There is no need for apology, Baron Anoch. I am not unreasonable. I gave you little warning of my arrival, so I will be pleased with your hospitality this evening no matter what."</p><p>"I... am pleased to hear that, your highness," replied the baron with a growing smile. "Please allow me introduce you to my family."</p><p>First were his sons, Agile and Nimble. Eldest and third eldest of his children.</p><p>While both had some martial talent, Agile was far more suited for governance and politics whereas Nimble was born to be a warrior. It showed in the way they dressed, with Agile wearing an impeccable suit befitting nobility while Nimble wore some of the finest light armor in their arsenal. Though still somewhat green in terms of real fighting experience, Nimble had a natural talent and the discipline and drive to hone it with practice.</p><p>"You appear to be geared for a fight, Nimble," remarked the prince with an air of curiosity.</p><p>"Yes, your highness. I will be putting on a show of martial skill for all to see, and it is my hope to entertain you and win your approval," replied Nimble respectfully.</p><p>"We shall see."</p><p>After remarking how beautiful the baron's daughters were and congratulating Swift, the baron's second eldest, on her engagement, the prince went on to greet the other nobles with astonishingly practiced ease, further surprising them all by knowing their names and their titles even though they had never met before until now.</p><p>All the while, Baron Anoch watched him closely. The old noble wondered what the prince sought to gain from his appearance tonight. The gears were already turning in his head, trying to decipher the young prince who had not once forayed directly into the courtly life until now, and he wondered if there was any way his own family could move ahead from this in the great game of the court. A thought that likely crossed the minds of many of the other nobles here.</p><p>"He has a presence and charisma that is frightening for his age," whispered Agile from beside him. "And he seems to know everyone here despite having never met them before. He was taught very well."</p><p>"Right you are. I can already tell he will be a force to be reckoned with once he's a little older and more established in the court. We must ensure that we end tonight on the most favorable of terms with the young prince," replied the baron quietly.</p><p>Agile nodded in silent agreement.</p><p>"Shall we? It's getting quite dark out and I am feeling parched," the prince said, his amethyst eyes resting on the baron expectantly once he was done exchanging initial pleasantries.</p><p>"O-Of course, your highness. Forgive me. Please, after you," he gestured towards the front doors of his home.</p><p>The evening continued inside as they dined on a wide selection of delicious foods, more than initially planned thanks to the last minute arrival of the prince, which had necessitated that the Anoch household pull out all the stops to leave the most favorable impression. They had even gone so far as to purchase double the amount of drinks they were originally going to serve, so as not to run into the potential embarrassment of running out of a particular drink.</p><p>Halfway through the night, the guests were requested to move to the upper balcony overlooking the rear courtyard. The conversations got more animated as the excitement for what was to come grew. While uncommon, a martial performance was acceptable entertainment for formal events such as this.</p><p>A contingent of thirty Anoch soldiers formed a square perimeter in the courtyard as a few robed figures nearby who appeared to be magic casters called forth some additional magic lights to properly light up the courtyard. Inside the square formation stood the lone figure of the second son of the baron. He was in the well-polished light armor that he had been wearing all night.</p><p>Nimble bowed to the crowd, feeling slightly nervous as he felt every eye on him. Taking in a deep breath to calm himself, he withdrew the fortified wooden practice sword that had been strapped to his waist and got into a ready stance, holding the sword out in front of him with both hands.</p><p>The courtyard fell silent, the murmurs of conversation dying down as they anticipated the start of the performance.</p><p>"Begin!" exclaimed the baron, accompanied by the loud clap of his hands echoing across the space.</p><p>Two soldiers ran at Nimble from the front and back, their own wooden swords ready to strike. With one step forward he parried the first strike and pushed the first man away with an outstretched arm, causing him to stumble backwards somewhat embarrassingly.</p><p>Without skipping a beat, Nimble quickly moved his weapon over his head and behind him, blocking the strike from the back that was aimed at his neck with ease.</p><p>Shifting his weight he spun around and swung a wide strike that the soldier behind him barely managed to block. With impressive speed, Nimble's weapon flowed into a second strike that hit the side of the man's knee, just behind the knee guard, eliciting a yelp of pain as the soldier lost balance. The third strike rapped him on the helmet hard enough to take him out of commission as he fell to the ground with what was probably a nasty bump and a strong headache once he awakened later.</p><p>The first soldier jumped to attack with an upward thrust that Nimble simply sidestepped, the whiff causing the soldier to stumble once again as he had put a lot of strength into the swing. Nimble closed the gap between them even further and hit the man's chin with the tip of his sword that he had swung around, pushing upward like an uppercut. Head snapping back, the soldier was unconscious before he hit the ground, his sword flying off as he lost his grip.</p><p>After a brief moment punctuated by applause from the gathered crowd, the two downed soldiers were taken away and Nimble was once again left to himself as the next phase of the demonstration began.</p><p>This time, four soldiers rushed him. It took him only a little longer to dispatch the four with the same ease as the first two, and he had barely moved from his spot in the middle of the formation.</p><p>"Not bad," murmured Baziwood, who had moved to stand slightly behind Prince Jircniv. The knight was watching with keen interest in his eyes.</p><p>"My brother is just getting started, sir knight," remarked Agile proudly, who was standing on the other side of the young royal.</p><p>The prince said nothing as he continued to observe impassively with his hands clasped behind him.</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>xxxxXxxxx</b>
</p><p> </p><p>Her mind and her body were absolutely numb from the pain.</p><p>Even though she could feel them dragging her bodily through the field, none of the hurt that she should feel from her rough treatment registered in her mind. Neither did any of the kicks that she was only vaguely aware were hitting her in places that should have been painful. She wondered how many of her bones were broken this time around. Was she still bleeding?</p><p>"... better not run away again," said one of the men walking beside her. He had apparently been talking to her this whole time, but she had only managed to get that last part. What else had they been saying?</p><p>"Yeah, because if you do runaway again... well..."</p><p>She hazily felt the kick hit her side, but she couldn't even react to it anymore. Everything hurt and every fiber of her being screamed pain and suffering, so adding on a little more didn't mean much in the end.</p><p>She tried to move her head to get a look around, to see the faces of her cruel masters who dragged her across the field so that she would know to be more cautious around them in the future, but she was too weak.</p><p>"At least the boss'll be happy we brought one of the runaways back in one piece... mostly," another of the men said with a mixture of amusement and relief. "And this one's from the latest batch, right?"</p><p>"Yeah, think so. But to be honest, they all look the fuckin' same so it's hard to tell."</p><p>"We should've brought that other one back too. I think she was from the same batch. The boss won't be too pleased to lose one of the newer ones."</p><p>"It's not my fault that she fell and broke her neck like that trying to run away from us. Dumb bitch was clumsy."</p><p>"Riiight. Just like it wasn't your fault that your dick happened to slip into her before she happened to break her neck."</p><p>"Shut the fuck up! You had a piece too, you right bastard!"</p><p>"I have no idea what you're talking about."</p><p>"Ha! Fuck off!"</p><p>"Whatever, it doesn't matter that much to me. As long as we never return empty handed, we can have our fun and the boss won't be too mad. Who cares if a few slaves end up dead or lost in the process?"</p><p>Their conversation continued in that vein for a while and she didn't care enough to listen any further.</p><p>Who were they talking about anyway? Someone from the same batch? She couldn't even remember anymore. Everything was just a haze of pain. All the hungry, exhausted nights of the last few weeks had blended together. She had barely slept in that time. Every day she worked the fields or any other tasks they had for her, and whenever she fell short of that task, she was punished. Sometimes they didn't feed her. Other times they violated her. Beatings and whippings were the lightest of the punishments she had received thus far, in her opinion.</p><p>She vaguely recalled stolen whispers among her people who were held there as slaves. The scantest looks of hope as they figured out some half-baked plan to escape. She remembered the patience. The will to endure because soon it would be over. Soon they would be running away and free from this nightmare.</p><p>But the plan failed. Miserably. And now there was more pain than she could ever remember experiencing in one instance. This was truly hell, she thought, and she may as well have been dead already. Yet she wasn't. Not yet.</p><p>She could barely open her puffy, bloodshot eyes, but she managed to force them to part enough to see a little. Above her was the endless expanse of the starry night sky, and they looked like the cold eyes of the cosmos were watching her. Judging her. Her vision was blurry, but she could still see their pinpricks of light in the darkness.</p><p>
  <em>Please... please someone help me...</em>
</p><p>She tried to speak the words, but all she managed to do was croak, eliciting another swift kick to her side and something was said that caused laughter among the others.</p><p>
  <em>Please...</em>
</p><p>Her broken soul cried out to the silent Gods above, hoping beyond hope that her prayers would be answered. The Gods existed, didn't they? She had heard of them. There were four, or maybe six. It didn't matter the number as long as there was one that might hear her plea. Would they not take pity on her? Were they even watching?</p><p>
  <strong>BOOM!</strong>
</p><p>As if on cue, above them there was a brilliant flash of pure white light that radiated across the sky. The wind howled for a few seconds, the crops around them swaying dangerously as if a tempest had come in all its fierce fury.</p><p>The men all jumped from the booming sound of the explosion of light above and covered their eyes, momentarily blinded by the sudden bright light. Their years of violent experience allowed them to stay somewhat composed, their hands going to their weapons as they crouched low to the ground.</p><p>"What the hell?" yelled one of them over the sudden windstorm as they all glanced around and above warily.</p><p>Then as quickly as it had come, the wind died down and everything around them was once again calm. The one thing that hadn't gone away though was the strange brilliant light that still shone from overhead.</p><p>Peering up at it, they realized that the light was actually getting closer, and not knowing what it was they felt genuine fear for the first time in a long time. They had never seen such a sight before. Their hairs were standing on end, and it was a wonder that they hadn't run away, though that was probably because the fear had gripped their legs entirely, rendering them immobile.</p><p>The radiant ball of white light faded somewhat as it got closer, like it was allowing them to see what was sheathed within its light, and at its core they beheld a being in shining silver armor with white and gold lines and white robes edged with gold. Its silver helm had two sharp curving horns protruding out of it, and through the slit in the visor they could see two glowing golden orbs of light shining through.</p><p>The humanoid being was descending from the sky, held aloft by a pair of massive feathery wings of the purest white. It looked like a cross between an angel and a demon, though more angel than demon, yet none of them had really seen either of those beings in person before, so they weren't entirely sure what to think.</p><p>"What... the fuck..." one of the men managed to speak, unable to do or say much else beyond that.</p><p>"Please tell me I'm not the only one seeing this shit," said another, his voice sounded torn between awe and fear.</p><p>Even the broken and battered girl could hardly believe what she was seeing. It would not have surprised her at all if this was all a figment of her imagination, a way for her mind to trick herself into thinking that salvation was possible. That she could be saved. Or was this unknown light going to finally be the death of her?</p><p>
  <em>Still... maybe... just maybe... the Gods... did they finally hear me?</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>xxxxXxxxx</b>
</p><p> </p><p>"Forgive me for asking, your highness, but are you not impressed?" probed Agile as the crowd erupted into another round of applause except for the prince, who looked almost bored, though it was admittedly hard to tell since his expression had been mostly guarded all evening.</p><p>Nimble stood triumphant in the courtyard, having defeated the thirty soldiers around him in four successive waves - 2, 4, 6, 8, and 10. Not once through the whole ordeal had he received even a glancing strike. Sweat covered his brow from the effort as he bowed and smiled to the prince, who merely nodded in acknowledgement.</p><p>Truthfully, the prince was indeed a little bored. While the young noble did perform well, his opponents were not skilled enough to warrant praise for defeating them, nor was the display that exciting. There was also the matter of the prince having seen fights in the Arenas, and the Grand Arena even, which were far and away more impressive than the spectacle he had just witnessed.</p><p>Of course, the prince was well aware not to say any of that out loud, lest he offend the Anochs.</p><p>"Your brother has some skill with a blade," the prince acquiesced, placing a gloved hand on the stone railing in front of him. He turned towards Baziwood, who noticed the movement and understood the intention of his master. He wanted the knight's opinion.</p><p>"He shows promise, your highness," agreed Baziwood, giving his honest opinion. "Maybe if given more advanced training, and some actual battle experience, he might turn into something great."</p><p>Agile smiled, "I am honored at your glowing appraisal of my brother, sir knight. He has been working hard to improve on his skills so that one day he could be one of the best warriors in the Empire." What the young noble heard next made his heart skip a beat.</p><p>"Great enough to become one of my knights, Bazi?" the prince queried. His purple eyes seemed to gleam with sudden interest in the dim light.</p><p>Bazi chuckled. "Hard to say for certain, but perhaps, your highness."</p><p>Pouncing on the chance, Agile spoke quickly. "If that is your wish, your highness, I believe my brother would be most honored to be one of your knights if given the chance. I can talk to him and my father an-"</p><p>Prince Jircniv raised a hand to cut him off, closing his eyes as if in irritation, and Agile immediately shut up and bowed his head.</p><p>"Forgive me, your highness. I spoke out of turn." Cursing himself for getting swept up in the exciting proposition, he hoped he didn't offend the prince enough for him to rethink his potential offer. This could be huge for his family.</p><p>"Very well. My curiosity has been piqued. How about we conduct a test?"</p><p>"A test, your highness?" Agile blinked. Surely he didn't mean...</p><p>"If your brother passes the test, I will gladly appoint him as one of my knights, sworn to my service as Prince of the great Baharuth Empire. If he fails, well... perhaps there will be another time." Those amethyst eyes slid over to stare straight at Agile, whose own blue eyes could only widen as his mind raced at the implications.</p><p>The baron's eldest son could feel his heartbeat double, the blood pumping at his temples so loudly he could hear each thump. He knew this was likely to be a one-time deal, that there wouldn't actually be a next time if his brother failed now or if they refused the offer. Was his brother ready? Were they all ready for this? This was a chance to get another foothold so as to rise in standing in the court.</p><p>"My prince..." the noble paused, thinking to buy time and glean more information, "What... what would be his test?"</p><p>"That is for me to decide," replied Prince Jircniv evenly. "If you so wish, you may converse with your family on the matter, but I might change my mind by the time you return with an answer."</p><p>Agile looked to his brother in the courtyard below who was conversing with a few of the soldiers he had been fighting. No doubt apologizing while simultaneously praising them for their efforts. Agile's eyes then drifted over to where his father stood some distance away talking with a few other nobles, who were likely complimenting him on his son's display. He hoped to catch the patriarch's eye, but the baron was engrossed in some story or other and would not look this way. There would be no time to receive counsel from him.</p><p>Clenching his fist, Agile returned his gaze to his brother. Nimble would no doubt agree to the proposal if he were here, and if things went well they would have a strong connection to the Imperial Family through his service to the young prince. Besides, refusing the offer might mean incurring the displeasure of the prince, and his father did say that they must do all they can to end the night on favorable terms with him.</p><p>To be an Imperial Knight of the Imperial Family was an honor that would certainly elevate the status of the noble Anoch Family even further than Swift's engagement to the Viscount's son would. Surely their father would approve if he spoke for the family and agreed to this deal here and now.</p><p>"He'll do it, your highness," he said at last, feeling relieved that he had said it, as if a growing weight had been lifted off his shoulders. "I'm sure that my brother would take on your test with earnest and would be beyond honored to have a chance to be one of your knights."</p><p>For the first time that evening, the prince truly smiled. "Excellent." He lazily waved a hand to Baziwood.</p><p>"ATTENTION!" roared the knight commandingly, eliciting a few gasps of surprise from the assembled crowd. Murmurs spread through the guests as all eyes fell on the knight and the prince he served. "His highness, Prince Jircniv, wishes to speak."</p><p>Total silence settled almost immediately, such was the respect they offered the young prince, as was expected of them.</p><p>The prince's voice carried surprisingly well given his small stature.</p><p>"I see a lot of potential with the martial skill displayed by the baron's son, Lord Nimble Arc Dale Anoch, and have therefore come to an agreement with the Anoch Family," gesturing towards Agile, who earned worried and questioning glances from each of his family members and his father in particular. "I will offer Lord Nimble a place among my knights if he is but to pass my test."</p><p>A few surprised gasps escaped from the crowd as they all began to whisper among themselves.</p><p>Agile glanced down at his brother, who gave him a look that said, <em>what the hell have you gotten me into?</em></p><p>"The test is simple enough," continued the prince, his steady gaze sweeping across the gathered nobility. "My knight captain, Sir Baziwood Peshmel, known as the Lightning Bolt of the East, will now face him in real combat."</p><p>There was a stunned silence before a mixture of nervousness and excitement jolted through the crowd. This was certainly not what anyone was expecting, least of all the Anochs.</p><p>Baron Anoch himself was hurriedly making his way over to the prince from the other side of the balcony.</p><p>Agile stood petrified to the spot, wondering if he had made the right decision. He was at a loss for words, not realizing that the prince had meant the test would be conducted tonight, or that it would involve his brother crossing swords with a warrior of Sir Baziwood's caliber. Did the prince plan this all along? Or was this a spur of the moment decision?</p><p>The Baroness quickly took their youngest daughter inside, realizing the implications of what might happen, while the Lady Swift was torn between a mixture of emotions. Dismay at her evening in the limelight being hijacked, fear for her brother's safety, and pride and excitement at the potential benefits a connection to the Imperial Family would bring.</p><p>"Your highness, I-" the baron started to speak, but the young prince cut him off.</p><p>"The agreement has been made, baron. Unless your family wishes to go back on their word, I suggest you make the preparations for a proper duel immediately." Prince Jircniv spared him a gaze that meant certain displeasure if he did.</p><p>"Well... I... uh... I will get right on it, your highness," the baron said in defeat, dragging his eldest son away a bit roughly by the arm.</p><p>Bazi spoke up when the nobles were out of earshot. "Well this is unexpected." There was an eagerness in his voice that betrayed the calm he had been exuding up until that point. It had been a while since he had crossed swords with someone with decent skill, and he was already relishing the chance to fight.</p><p>"Try not to kill him," the prince said curtly. "He could be of use."</p><p>With a wolfish grin, the knight bowed his head. "I'll try my best, your highness."</p><p>
  <b>xxxxXxxxx</b>
</p><p>Lucifer casually touched down in the middle of the group, landing right next to the terribly battered and bloodied figure bound with ropes like some animal they were dragging back from a hunt. He folded his wings behind them, but kept them out in case he needed to get airborne quickly, or potentially needed to use them to fight. He ignored the three frightened thugs around him as he took a closer look at the captive, who turned out to be a girl.</p><p>Her clothes, or what was left of them, were torn and tattered and stained with blood, revealing almost all of her bloodied and bruised skin. She had a frighteningly thin body from what he guessed were the effects of severe malnutrition and there were obvious signs of more than a few broken or dislocated bones. The girl was missing some of the nails on her fingers and toes, and the ones that remained were cracked and broken. Her black hair was dry, filthy, and disheveled, and looked like it hadn't been washed in weeks, like the rest of her. Her left eye was swollen and purple like a big grape, and her lips were dry and cracked as if she hadn't drank any water for days.</p><p>Surprisingly, she appeared to be somewhat conscious since her good eye was looking straight at him, and Lucifer couldn't even imagine how she must have been feeling at that moment. She had been crying, the tears mixing with the blood and dirt on her sunken cheeks.</p><p>Lucifer could see the fear and desperation in her eye, which was red from all the tears, or possibly from the bleeding too.</p><p>She tried to say something, moving her mouth and revealing missing teeth and bleeding gums. However, she could only muster a feeble wheeze. The woman was more than halfway to the grave, and some might even think it a mercy to simply kill her and put her out of her misery.</p><p>Lucifer, his face still as stone, knelt down and gently cupped her cheek.</p><p>"Do you wish to die?" he asked calmly, staring into her good eye. "Blink once for yes, twice for no." If she said yes, he would put her out of her misery. But if she didn't, he would have to save her.</p><p>The question took everyone by surprise, though the thugs were too afraid of Lucifer to dare say anything.</p><p>There was a long silence, and Lucifer wondered if the woman had even understood him. He was going to repeat what he had said when she blinked once. Twice. Then she held his gaze, or at least tried to.</p><p>"Are you sure?"</p><p>Blink.</p><p>Lucifer smiled ever so slightly as he got to his feet. "Very well." His gaze shifted to the three men around him who were spaced out about ten feet apart and forming a triangle with the girl, and therefore Lucifer, in the center. Two of the men each had one end of the thick rope that was tied around the girl.</p><p>"Who is the leader among you?" asked Lucifer patiently.</p><p>The two with the ropes immediately looked at the third, a man with an athletic build and a rough, bearded face with numerous scars. He was the one bringing up the rear and held two daggers in his hands, which meant he was most likely a thief-class fighter.</p><p>Lucifer turned and walked right up to him until he was about an arm's length away, not caring at all that the man was armed. He loomed over the man who was several inches shorter and seemed to shrink back at his approach.</p><p>"What exactly is happening here?" Lucifer said, unblinking.</p><p>The man blinked, opened and closed his mouth, then blinked again. "W-Who... are you?" he managed blurt out with some effort.</p><p>Ignoring the question, Lucifer said, "I won't ask a second time." His golden eyes glowed brighter.</p><p>The man instinctively took a step back and dropped his gaze down fearfully to Lucifer's boots. "S-She tried t-to run away... th-this slave... our master... o-our master sent u-us... s-sent us to...," he stuttered, unable to finish his sentence.</p><p>"I see. And who is your master?"</p><p>The man paused for a moment, as if wondering if he should answer that question. The look in Lucifer's eye didn't really give him much choice.</p><p>"L-Lord Rubeon... h-he owns the l-land and t-the farms on this s-side..."</p><p>Before Lucifer could ask anything else, he felt the faint sensation of something hitting him from behind along with the cracking sound of breaking wood and metal shattering.</p><p>Turning his head slightly, he saw in the corner of his eye that one of the other men held the stump of the handle of his weapon. The man stared at the broken remains of his weapon in disbelief, having landed a clean hit on Lucifer's back and yet not leaving a mark.</p><p>After berating himself for allowing someone to sneak up on him like that, Lucifer was at least grateful to learn for certain that his armor and defense stats were far superior to these thugs. They were no threat at all.</p><p>"That was a mistake," Lucifer stated simply. Turning his body slightly, he flared out one of his wings and smashed it into the man. What happened next was almost comical.</p><p>Lucifer didn't think he had put that much force into the movement, but the man was batted away with the sound of breaking bones as if he weighed nothing, screaming as he hurtled through the air and bouncing across the ground heavily somewhere farther into the fields. The crops were high enough that it was impossible to see where exactly the man was and in what condition, not that it mattered in the slightest to Lucifer.</p><p>Oops. He needed to practice his control over the amount of force in his blows. He had only meant to knock the man back and on his ass, not send him flying off like that. It wouldn't do in future engagements to accidentally kill someone that he only meant to incapacitate.</p><p>Turning back to the rogue in front of him, Lucifer spoke in a more severe tone, "Let that serve as a warning."</p><p>Dropping his daggers to the dirt, the man fell to his knees. "P-Please... s-spare u-us..." the man cried, visibly quaking in his boots as he bowed before the winged being, face to the ground. "I'll g-give you a-anything! Anything at all!"</p><p>Turning to look at the one other guy, he noted that this man had also dropped his weapon and fallen to his knees in a similar manner, his face frozen in a look of utter disbelief and genuine terror.</p><p>Lucifer's gaze settled on the woman, his eyes glowing bright once more as he clenched his fists. When he spoke, the men listened earnestly.</p><p>"You will tell me what you know. Depending on what you say, I may let you live."</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>xxxxXxxxx</b>
</p><p> </p><p>It didn't take long before Baziwood and Nimble faced each other in the courtyard, this time with real weapons. Nimble had donned heavier armor this time, the kind used to go into battle, along with a helmet, though the quality of his armor clearly paled in comparison to the Imperial Knight's.</p><p>"Do you have what it takes to be an Imperial Knight for the prince, Lord Nimble?" asked Bazi, rolling his shoulders and stretching his neck as he spoke.</p><p>The man's calm was slightly unnerving to younger warrior, though he tried not to show it. "I think so."</p><p>"You <em>think</em> so? Well, sorry to say that ain't gonna cut it," the knight crossed his big armored arms across his chest. He stared straight at the young noble, his head open to the elements as he had decided to forego wearing his helmet.</p><p>Nimble crouched low and stretched his legs out, eyeing his opponent but not looking into the big man's eyes. He kept quiet, deciding not to engage in a verbal joust. It was only serving to weaken his own resolve and distract him.</p><p>The crowd quieted down, the occasional whisper the only noise coming from those watching.</p><p>"Sir Baziwood Peshmel and Lord Nimble Arc Dale Anoch will now face each other in a duel. This duel will end when one party yields or draws first blood!" announced the baron with finality. The old noble then glanced in the direction of Prince Jircniv, who gave an almost imperceptible nod.</p><p>The baron turned back to the two combatants in the courtyard below and yelled, "BEGIN!"</p><p>Bazi smiled, showing his teeth. "I hope you can help me put on a good show for his highness, the prince."</p><p>The big knight unsheathed his sword, prompting Nimble to do the same.</p><p>Bazi's sword was slightly longer and thicker than Nimble's, which meant he had a longer reach and each strike would have more power. It was also made of adamantite, whereas Nimble only had a platinum-forged sword, so Bazi didn't have to worry about his weapon durability in this fight. Essentially, the young noble was already at a big disadvantage in terms of equipment alone.</p><p>While a regular observer might think that the big knight would be too slow to keep up with the lithe warrior, especially after seeing the young noble handle himself against multiple opponents earlier in the evening, they would be terribly mistaken.</p><p>Baziwood Peshmel did not get his title as the Lightning Bolt of the East because he was slow, and Nimble was painfully aware of this fact. He had heard of the older warrior's exploits in the Arena at Oldaven, which was not too far away from the Anoch estate. Though now he wished he had been able to watch some of those fights before so that he might have an inkling as to what to expect now. That had been a few years ago, and undoubtedly the Lightning Bolt of the East had only gotten stronger since then.</p><p>This was why Nimble's hands and forehead were already covered with a thin sheen of sweat and he hadn't even made a single move. It was simply fear born out of knowing he was outclassed, and yet honor and a desire to prove himself kept him from conceding without at least putting up a fight. No one expected him to win this duel, least of all himself.</p><p>The two combatants watched each other for what seemed an eternity, before Bazi rolled his eyes with disappointment as his relaxed stance began to tense.</p><p>"Tch... fine, if you won't come to me, then I guess <em>I'll just have to come to you!</em>" he roared the last part as he ran towards Nimble with astonishing speed for his size. The knight's sword swung in a diagonal slash and Nimble sidestepped and barely managed to dodge, bringing his sword up to defend against the follow-up strike he knew was coming.</p><p>Sure enough, their swords met for the first time in a clash of metal that rang across the courtyard.</p><p>Nimble stared into the eyes of his opponent. There was a hunger in the bigger man's eyes, a thirst for battle and blood that Nimble sorely lacked.</p><p>His arms had been shaken at the strength of the blow, and he strained to push against the bigger man's sword.</p><p>"Show me what you've got!" growled the knight, kicking the noble in the gut with the bottom of his boot.</p><p>It was meant more to push him off than to actually hurt, but Nimble grimaced all the same from the heavy kick and stumbled back a few steps. Thankfully, he managed to maintain his balance and kept his sword up and ready. That kick was totally unexpected. He wasn't used to fighting someone who could use their legs for offense as well.</p><p>Neither one of them had activated martial arts yet, but a betting man would think that Nimble would be the first one to do so in this duel. It was his only chance at victory, and the opening blows were evidence of the fact that while Nimble was skilled with a sword, Bazi was undoubtedly above him.</p><p>Bazi went on the offensive once again, slashing forward. This time Nimble was able to jump back out of reach in time. As the sword swung harmlessly in front of him, Nimble lunged forward for an attack of his own.</p><p>Much to the noble's surprise, however, Bazi immediately dropped to the ground, following the momentum of his sword, and rolled before getting back on his feet, avoiding Nimble's attack entirely as the noble's sword sliced through air. The knight's sword was already up and moving with its wielder and Nimble was once again busy fending off the knight's quick and heavy strikes.</p><p>The adamantite sword flowed into one strike after the other, this time diagonally from below and it was all Nimble could do to parry it as he twisted his body from the motion. On instinct, he initiated a counter-attack by flipping his sword around by the hilt and then thrusting forward, and it almost caught the knight by surprise. Almost.</p><p>Bazi managed to redirect the thrust with the very edge of the hilt of his sword, a move only an expert swordsman would have been able to pull off. He took a few steps back and grinned, impressed.</p><p>"Hah! Not bad! I gotta admit that was a pretty slick move. I was a bit careless there. It would've worked too if you hadn't been facing someone like me." With that said, the knight pressed forward once more, not giving Nimble any time to catch his breath or even to thank the knight for his compliment.</p><p>Nimble pushed his body to move faster, trying hard to stay on his feet as he blocked, dodged, and parried a combination move that ended with Nimble barely blocking a strike that glanced off his helmet.</p><p>A gasp erupted from the crowd.</p><p>This man's combinations were fairly simple so far, but the speed, strength, and execution of the moves were near perfect.</p><p>The knight rounded his blade after the near-miss and swung again, with Nimble meeting it with as much strength as he could muster, their swords pressing against each other in the middle. Neither side made a move for a moment, though they were pressing against each other through their swords. They stared at each other as they each held their ground.</p><p>"Are you going to activate your martial arts yet?" the big man asked, his breathing a little heavier than earlier, though it was more akin to him having gone on a jog around the mansion than fighting with swords in a duel.</p><p>Gritting his teeth from the exertion of holding back the bigger man, Nimble replied, "You... first."</p><p>The knight jumped back to disengage and shook his head, leveling a steely gaze at the young noble. "That stubbornness is going to get you killed one day, you know."</p><p>"Shut up and fight!" growled Nimble, getting annoyed at the fact that this man was definitely toying with him. Even though he knew from the beginning that he was outclassed, to think that he wasn't good enough to even warrant the use of martial arts by the knight hurt his pride.</p><p>The young noble leaped forward to attack, which the knight expertly deflected and hopped to the side, throwing a roundhouse kick with his front leg as he did so.</p><p>Nimble moved his arm down his side and braced himself as the kick connected, jarring his body. Grimacing once again, he managed to stay on his feet as he entered into a few combination attacks of his own. His strikes were quick too, but the knight was able to fend them off with seemingly minimal effort.</p><p>"Not bad," Bazi said when they disengaged once more, "But surely you have more."</p><p>It was clear that in terms of fighting experience and swordsmanship, the knight was a class or two above Nimble. Even so, the young noble would not concede defeat so easily.</p><p>The only way for him to possibly win was to use his martial arts. He knew that. He had been hoping to make a better account of himself in this fight and at least push the knight to use his martial arts first before activating his own, but that scenario now seemed highly unlikely. The knight was right though, his stubborn pride was holding him back and increasing the danger that he was exposing himself to. In a real fight for life or death, that might get him killed.</p><p>Focusing inwardly, he channeled his martial arts. "<strong>{</strong>Flow Acceleration<strong>}</strong>. <strong>{</strong>Gale Acceleration<strong>}</strong>. <strong>{</strong>Ability Boost<strong>}</strong>." With each successive art, his body glowed with various colors of energy, and he could feel his physical limits being enhanced, and with it his grip on his sword tightened as his confidence and his strength surged. He could also feel a growing fatigue and strain on his mind as the martial arts exacted their toll for their use.</p><p>"Finally taking this seriously, eh?" the knight remarked casually, though he was in a fighting stance as tense as a loaded spring, ready to move at the slightest notice. "Very well. Let me use some too so you don't have <em>all</em> the fun. <strong>{</strong>Ability Boost<strong>}</strong>. <strong>{</strong>Greater Ability Boost<strong>}</strong>.<strong> {</strong>Lightning Reflexes<strong>}</strong>."</p><p>Nimble's eyes narrowed as he went into a side stance, bringing his own sword up to eye-level in preparation for his next move.</p><p>"<strong>{</strong>Fierce Wind Slash!<strong>}</strong>" He sprung forward with insane speed, his sword swinging so quickly it was creating a vortex of wind in its wake. It was one of Nimble's fastest strikes, and yet his strike sliced through thin air, and the cutting wind that he followed with it cut through empty space too.</p><p>This was a two-pronged attack: the sword itself would strike the target but a cutting wind would also follow, potentially doing double-damage with one move, but that of course hinged on him actually being accurate with it. He cursed inwardly at having missed.</p><p>Bazi had jumped away just far enough to escape harm and immediately lunged into a counter-attack.</p><p>Their swords moved at a dizzying speed, and for most of the onlookers it was hard to keep track now that their martial arts were active. Even so, it was still plain to see that Nimble was being pushed around fairly easily by the knight.</p><p>The two warriors separated, breathing heavily, though one much more so than the other.</p><p>"I'll give you credit, Lord Nimble. This has been a bit more entertaining than I thought," said Bazi with complete honesty in his voice, and a look of newfound respect leveled at Nimble.</p><p>The young noble grimaced as he sucked in big gulps of air, "Thanks... you're... really good." His body was shaking from the exertion.</p><p>Bazi only grinned that wolfish grin of his. "I think it's time to wrap this up, lord. Let's end this, shall we? Show me your best move right here and now. You've probably only got one shot left in the tank anyway, am I right?"</p><p>The knight was correct, annoyingly enough, but Nimble didn't speak. His only reply was to change his stance. If the knight wanted his best move, he'd get his best move.</p><p>Everyone was silent as they watched in anticipation for what appeared to be the climax of the match closely.</p><p>The two combatants locked eyes.</p><p>Nimble shifted ever so slightly forward.</p><p>"<strong>{</strong>Gale Force Flash!<strong>}</strong>" he cried.</p><p>"<strong>{</strong>Lightning Sword Strike!<strong>}</strong>" roared Bazi.</p><p>There was a massive gust of wind that swept through the courtyard, the epicenter of which was where the two clashed with their final blows, accompanied by the sound of metal hitting metal as the two warriors hurtled towards each other. In the blink of an eye they stood apart and it was over.</p><p>Nimble collapsed to the ground, his chest armor was cracked and his shoulder pauldron was almost entirely broken. His exposed shoulder had a gash that wasn't too deep. Blood flowed clearly from the wound, effectively ending the duel. Not that Nimble could continue on anyway in his exhausted state. Thankfully, the cut was only shallow and could be healed easily enough.</p><p>For his part, Bazi looked down at the gauntlet of his sword arm and noticed a long thin scratch along the metal from Nimble's strike. He traced it with a finger and his grin widened.</p><p>Up above on the balcony, many in the crowd were uncertain how to react to the spectacle they had witnessed.</p><p>Prince Jircniv made his way to the baron, the crowd parting and bowing quietly in his wake as he walked through them.</p><p>The baron had an unreadable expression as he bowed before the young prince, unable to quite meet his gaze. While he was proud of how far his son had come in terms of fighting skill, to see him so handily defeated like that in his own home and in front of all his guests was surely a bit painful to swallow.</p><p>"It appears your knight has won, your highness," remarked the baron carefully.</p><p>"Yes, it appears so. Though your son made a good account of himself."</p><p>That perked the ears of everyone nearby, and the baron's indifferent mask was broken as a glimmer of hope shone through.</p><p>"I'll send for him in a few days," the prince said with finality, not waiting for the baron to say anything. "Now, where's your eldest daughter? I wish to apologize to her personally for causing such a distraction on her special evening."</p><p>
  <b>xxxxXxxxx</b>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Chapter 6</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I haven't fully fleshed out ALL of the spells in Lucifer's arsenal, he has at least 300 spells (definitely more but we'll get to that) to choose from between all of his various classes and an additional 100 or so from cash items (won't be as many as Momonga tho who I believe has 700 spells?)... so there might be some spells in future chapters that might've proved more useful in previous chapters... and if you ever notice that happening it's most likely because I added a new spell that I just thought of at that moment. Perhaps at some point I'll rewrite older chapters to fix those situations... but that would depend on how much time I have to spare... thanks again for the support and the reviews. Let me know what you think :)</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It was the screaming that jolted Leinas awake.</p><p>The sounds of dying men screaming their last echoed across the once quiet camp. The screams were quickly followed by panicked yells and the unmistakable sounds of fighting.</p><p>"WE'RE UNDER ATTACK!" yelled a soldier in the distance, trying to warn his fellow soldiers.</p><p>A bell started to ring incessantly, one of several alarm bells stationed across the encampment. Then another rang out in a different location to match it. Soon the bells were ringing all at once as the edges of the camp were ringed with fire and blood.</p><p>If the screaming and fighting hadn't woken everyone up yet, the desperate chorus of the alarm bells surely did, and the chaos in the camp was rampant.</p><p>Several beastly roars joined the commotion, followed by the sounds of heavy footsteps. The ground shook with each heavy step, and then there were more screams of the injured or dying.</p><p>There was a lot of confusion and yelling as half-awake soldiers hastily grabbed weapons and armor, stumbling out of their tents. Many of them were struggling to stay upright due to a combination of exhaustion and the hangovers from their revelry the night before.</p><p>Leinas was no exception.</p><p>Her mind was still numb and her senses dull. She suited up as best she could in the dim light of her tent. Fumbling with the straps of her greaves, she cursed herself for being so foolish. She should have known better than to drink so much while out on a campaign, especially given how close they were to monster territory.</p><p>What bothered Leinas was that she hadn't expected any monsters to be so bold as to actually attack the camp, especially one as big as theirs with nearly two hundred soldiers under her command. Even more troubling was that these monsters were tactical enough to attack the camp early in the day after their long night of revelry and drinking. She tried not to think of how many lost their lives because of their inebriation from the night before.</p><p>Based on the sounds of the commotion all around the camp, this was a sizable force of monsters that they were dealing with. If it was simple bad luck that they were in the way of a roving army of monsters, that would be one thing, but she had a sinking feeling that this was a deliberate and carefully planned assault. That meant there was a powerful creature, or creatures, somewhere out there with enough intelligence to come up with such a daring attack and enough power to command the others to carry it out.</p><p>"Lady Leinas!" called the familiar voice of Jhethro from outside the flaps leading into her tent, eliciting a brief feeling of relief from the young female warrior. At least one of her trusted lieutenants was still alive in this mess of a situation.</p><p>Having finished putting on her battle gear, she hastily threw on her helmet and grabbed her trusty spear before pushing through the flaps and out into the early morning light. Her head was pounding just as fast as her heart was pumping and she silently cursed once again her decision to drink so much last night.</p><p>If she made it through this, she promised to never drink to excess like that ever again while out on a campaign.</p><p>Jethro was standing a few steps away from the entrance of her tent, firing arrows into the distance with his trusty longbow. He had three quivers full of arrows; two strapped across his back and one hanging at his right hip. Plenty of ammunition for a fight. His eyes were bloodshot and his face looked pale and a little green.</p><p>Either he had just thrown up, or he was about to, and he was apparently having a rough morning as well. The sight of him made Leinas briefly wonder if the archer was even hitting anything with his arrows.</p><p>A goblin was about to jump on an unsuspecting, half-dressed bewildered soldier a few dozen feet away, but before the goblin could even leap on to the man an arrow whistled through the air and pierced the side of its skull with impressive precision.</p><p>It fell dead onto the soldier, who could only scream in terror as he was knocked off his feet, probably thinking he was about to die. After a few more seconds of panicking, the man realized that the goblin wasn't actually moving, and pushed the corpse off of himself.</p><p>With a grin, Leinas realized her worries about Jethro's accuracy were unfounded. Not that she ever doubted his skill with a bow. Jethro was definitely one of the best marksmen she had in her service, but her experience with him in battle up until that point was only when he was fresh and sober.</p><p>Never before had she seen him fight while clearly hungover and struggling like this, and she supposed the reason for that was because they rarely drank before a fight to begin with.</p><p>She tried not to think about it too much, but this was all her fault for having allowed a celebratory feast in the middle of an expedition. She could only hope that the men who had perished so far that morning would forgive her for the mistake when she joined them in the afterlife.</p><p>"What's the situation?" she called out to the archer as she ran towards the closest sounds of fighting, Jethro falling in behind her. Each step helped to shake off the hangover as adrenaline coursed through her veins, but her movements still felt sluggish. She would not be able to fight at one hundred percent for a while and hopefully that wouldn't be a problem.</p><p>Her soldiers were running every which way around them as the whole camp was in disarray. Most of the soldiers under her command were already either engaged in the fighting, wounded, or dead by the time she had gotten out of her tent. Some of the tents along the outer perimeter were on fire, the red-orange flames belching dark gray smoke across the forest, partially trapped underneath the thick layer of branches above.</p><p>"We appear to be attacked and surrounded by an unknown number of goblins," reported Jethro grimly, "It was a surprise attack. Didn't even know we were under assault until they were already among the outer tents is what I heard. Some of the men were even slain in their beds... the poor bastards."</p><p>Leinas winced at the thought of her soldiers being killed in their beds and slowed her pace. A few soldiers nearby seemed to take heart at her sudden appearance and moved with greater purpose.</p><p>"So far I've seen enemy foot soldiers, archers, and your run-of-the-mill ogres, but they seem unusually coordinated so I'm guessing there are higher ranking goblins or some other creatures that are leading them from elsewhere." He continued to fire off arrows while they were on the move.</p><p>Leinas didn't even have the opportunity to do anything about some stray goblins that managed to penetrate this far into the camp because Jethro took them down quickly enough before they got into range of her spear. She didn't mind since they were more a nuisance than a threat, though she was now itching for some action of her own.</p><p>"Where's our magic support?" she asked, coming to a stop and surveying the scene around them.</p><p>"They have no magic casters from what I've seen, though some of our own handful of magicians were either killed or wounded in the initial attack. Those that are left who can use healing magic have been assigned to help tend to the wounded, so we don't have much in terms of offensive magic capabilities at the moment."</p><p>"Unfortunate," Leinas said with a deep frown, "But at least they have no magic on their side either. It seems the men are finally putting up a good fight. Let's join in, shall we?"</p><p>Not a moment later her eyes locked onto one of the ogres that Jethro mentioned, it's massive lumbering form was hard to miss.</p><p>"I'll get that big guy over there. You take care of the little ones. Where's Triston?" she said with determination as she jumped sideways.</p><p>Some goblin archers had apparently noticed their appearance and sent crude arrows flying right through the space where she had been standing. She continued to run towards the ogre, who was using what looked to be a recently uprooted tree as a club and bashing a soldier to death with it, blood and guts horrifically splattering everywhere.</p><p>"No idea!" yelled out Jethro as she moved farther ahead. "Probably already in the thick of it and swinging that big ax of his around, knowing him!"</p><p>More goblin arrows flew their way and Jethro ducked behind a tree for cover, firing back at the goblin archers and taking a couple of them out easily. They were no match for him in a contest of archery. Realizing this, the surviving archers fled, only for them to be quickly shot in the back by Jethro before they could escape.</p><p>Leinas somersaulted over a goblin who had turned and rushed her with an ax, her spear piercing through the top of the creature's skull with ease, blood spewing forth. Landing gracefully on her feet, she continued her sprint towards the ogre. Her soldiers were fighting in between the mass of tents, many of them only partially-clothed and armored, but other than fighting with the ogres they seemed to be holding their own against the goblin forces now that they were up and somewhat armed.</p><p>The ogre had its back to her when she got within striking distance, raising its tree-club and bringing it down, flattening a few soldiers as well as some goblins in the process. One of the soldiers was still moving, blood spewing from his mouth as he tried to crawl away, so it raised its club to strike again.</p><p>With the tip of her spear, Leinas slashed at the heel of the big brute, aiming for the thick tendon. The wound was deep but didn't even come close to cutting through the whole ligament, but it was enough to throw off the creature's balance and make it stumble from the sudden injury.</p><p>The ogre roared in pain as it tried to spin around, swinging an arm in an attempt to swat her with the back of its large hand, but she ran and slid between the creature's legs. Her straight blonde hair flowing behind her from underneath her helmet as she slid, she evaded its sight for another few seconds as it looked at where she had been mere seconds ago with confusion.</p><p>"<strong>{</strong>Ability Boost<strong>}</strong>!" She activated one of her martial arts, increasing her strength and agility. She could feel her muscles tensing with a power that flowed through the length of her body.</p><p>Crouching low and coiling herself, she exploded up into the air to the creature's full height and then stabbed at it with her spear in a frenzy. Her weapon penetrated the back of the ogre's skull and neck multiple times and it dropped its makeshift club with a loud crash, both of its big hands reaching up to grab at the back of its now bleeding head.</p><p>Roaring in agony, it swung with another backhand wildly at her, missing her completely as she dropped back down to the ground. A couple of arrows embedded themselves into its face, making the ogre's head snap back a little as it was caught by surprise. She recognized it as Jethro's handiwork and smiled briefly.</p><p>Leinas dashed away, already anticipating what was about to happen.</p><p>Unable to fully support its weight anymore on its badly injured leg as it swung around and coupled with the pain and confusion that it was feeling, the ogre fell over with a thunderous crash.</p><p>Leinas did not waste the opportunity to once more go in to attack, aiming for the head with a killing blow. Its blood and brains coated the forest floor.</p><p>The few men around her who were still fighting some goblins managed to let out a cheer, feeling invigorated by her feat. Some of the remaining goblins in the immediate vicinity broke and turned to flee, but her soldiers cut them down before they could make it too far.</p><p>Leinas eyed a few more ogres all around the camp, which meant there was still more work to be done, but at least this area was more manageable now that she had dealt with the ogre here.</p><p>"I leave the rest to you, men!" she called out as she ran towards the next big monster. They cheered once more and continued to fight back with renewed vigor.</p><p>There were so many goblins. Too many for a single goblin shaman to control. So there was either more than one shaman involved in this attack, or there was something even higher in the goblin hierarchy who was in charge. A goblin chief perhaps? That was a chilling thought. There hadn't been a goblin chief in these parts for almost a century now, which might mean they were overdue for one.</p><p>From the corner of her eye she spied Jethro firing several arrows towards the next closest ogre, a few of the projectiles embedding themselves into the ogre's face. One arrow pierced through the monster's eye and elicited an agonizing howl of pain from the brute. The soldiers around it began to hack away while it stumbled and flailed about in panic, and the soldiers took great care not to get stomped on. It wasn't long before the troll was on the ground and motionless, covered in its own blood.</p><p>Moments later, there was another dying roar of an ogre could be heard accompanied by an earth-shaking smash. Looking in the direction that it came from, she saw that some of her soldiers managed to take another one out on their own. With a proud smile, she moved on. Their losses might be high thanks to the surprise nature of the attack, but they were not going to be defeated so easily now that they were up and fighting. They might get through this after all.</p><p>Leinas gripped her spear firmly as she launched herself at the next ogre. Her movements were even sharper now that she had more time to shake off the hangover and get the adrenaline flowing, her strikes strong and true as her spear pierced flesh with speed and accuracy.</p><p>Before long another ogre was lying dead at her feet with her spear planted straight up through its jaw and poking out the top of its ugly head. She tugged on the spear and failed to dislodge it on her first attempt, the weapon somehow stuck on the broken skull and bones of the ogre. An arrow whizzed by her head, missing my mere inches, making her flinch in surprise. Another arrow followed, glancing on her shoulder pad harmlessly.</p><p>Gritting her teeth as she pulled on her spear, she ducked and leaned as a few more arrows flew around her. Several goblins wielding clubs, swords, and axes ran towards her speedily on their short legs, breaking off from a bigger engagement with several of her soldiers nearby. Some of them were growling and a few cackled with glee at her predicament, beady eyes glinting with murderous thoughts.</p><p>Three of them in a row went down as arrows found their marks on each of their skulls, and Leinas silently thanked Jethro for the assistance. For all the skill Jethro possessed, there were too many goblins for him to take down all of them before they closed in, leaping at Leinas with a frenzy.</p><p>Abandoning her spear for a moment, she leaped backwards and then rolled to the side as more of the crude goblin arrows whistled through the air.</p><p>A goblin with a rough-hewn wooden club studded with crude metal spikes on the end swung at her wildly, forcing her to jump back again as its friends closed around her attempting to flank. Leinas sidestepped and leaned as an ax was swung down at her, followed by a spear thrust that she dodged by leaning even further back and yet still remaining on her feet. She grabbed the crude spear tightly and tugged, her boosted strength making it easy for her to snatch the weapon out of the goblin's hand while also causing said goblin to fall forward onto its face, the green little monster yelping in surprise.</p><p>Deftly twirling the spear around she promptly buried it in the fallen goblin's skull with a sickening squelch then pulled it out, blood trailing and dripping from its rudimentary blade, and swung around at the other goblins, causing all of them except one to duck to avoid its path. The one that was too slow was smacked hard in the face with the wooden shaft of the crude spear just below the blade, rendering it unconscious as the bones in its face broke and the spear splintered from the impact, sending the top quarter of it with the blade flying off into the dirt.</p><p>Without hesitation she jumped forward and thrust the broken end of the spear shaft that was still in her hand, burying the broken point in the neck of another goblin while her other arm blocked the rusty sword it swung at her, the weapon barely scratching the metal of her gauntlet. Her arm shook as a jolt shot through her body from the impact. It helped that the goblin was already dying when the swing hit her, otherwise it might have stung even more. Thankfully, her orichalcum armor was far superior to the iron or steel of the goblin's weapon.</p><p>More arrows flew in and took out the remaining goblins, and this time Leinas waved at Jethro in the distance to thank him for the support.</p><p>He momentarily smiled and waved back before aiming his bow elsewhere. His quivers were running out of arrows fast.</p><p>Leinas returned to the downed ogre and retrieved her spear with another serious tug. It had been a while since she had faced ogres, and she forgot how easy it was for weapons to get stuck in their thick skulls if you weren't careful. Wiping some sweat off of her brow, she noticed that the goblin archers were no longer targeting her and she wondered if Jethro had taken care of them or if they had decided to find another target.</p><p>Before she could reassess the battle fully, a horn sounded in the distance. It was loud and ominous across what had become a much quieter battlefield, and the few remaining goblin cannon fodder retreated. The fires raged and when it became clear that the goblins were retreating, some of the soldiers who could still stand busied themselves trying to put them out.</p><p>Another horn from a different location answered, and Leinas wondered if that was perhaps the enemy signaling a full retreat. There were at least eight ogres dead by her count and probably at least ten times that many goblins. Surely that was a big enough loss for them to consider withdrawing. Long had it been since a force that size even banded together for an attack on humans.</p><p>She was wrong.</p><p>The howling of wolves echoed through the forest that they had been camping in, sending chills down the spines of every soldier that heard them.</p><p>"Goblin riders!" someone cried out in dismay.</p><p>
  <b>xxxxXxxxx</b>
</p><p>Shafts of morning light filtered in through the gaps in the wooden shutters, illuminating the somewhat cramped interior of the room.</p><p>It was furnished with only the barest of necessities: two simple beds, a nightstand in between, a tall cabinet by the door, and a chest at the foot of one of the beds. Both the chest and the cabinet looked like they had barely seen any use over the last few months with a fine collection of dust and cobwebs all over.</p><p>The accommodations were a little worse than Lucifer had hoped, but was also better than he had dreaded. At least the innkeeper had provided fresh linens and towels for them to use. There was a shared bathroom down the L-shaped hallway.</p><p>The City Guardsman that Lucifer had spoken with, who apparently might have been the cousin or some other relative of the innkeeper, said that this inn was the cheapest place to find a room close to the East Gate through which he had entered the city.</p><p>Having seen the sorry state of the inn, Lucifer understood why the guard had said this would be the cheapest accommodations near the gate. He had been able to book the room at a cost of only five coppers a night, and that apparently included one meal per person.</p><p>Since he had absolutely no idea of the value of goods and services in this new world, he took the guard's word for it that it was cheap and agreed to the terms without hesitation. Besides, it didn't seem like the innkeeper was the kind of man to take advantage of others in that way. Not from what Lucifer gathered from their brief interaction.</p><p>With the rate he was being charged for the room, they would be able to stay for at least a couple of weeks solely on the money he had appropriated from the thugs. Not that he was planning on staying that long. It was simply nice to know that they could stay longer if needed. As an added bonus, the innkeeper was including one meal a day for free as well, probably because he felt bad for them and was concerned about the girl that he had carried in unconscious.</p><p>Normally, having meals included with lodging was probably a good thing, but Lucifer wasn't so sure if he wanted to taste the offered meals at this rundown inn and was kind of glad he didn't actually need to eat anymore in order to survive. Though the woman he rescued would probably need to eat something eventually. Well, if she couldn't stomach the innkeeper's food, Lucifer had enough money to buy food for her elsewhere.</p><p>Lucifer was sitting on his bed, arms across his chest and legs bent in front of him with his back pressed up against the wall. His eyes were shut and he looked like he was sleeping because he didn't move except for the rise and fall of his chest from breathing. But he was far from asleep. In fact he hadn't slept all night as he kept vigil over the figure sleeping in the other bed.</p><p>The raven-haired girl he had rescued last night had for the most part slept peacefully. She mumbled a few times in her sleep, but otherwise she seemed to be enjoying what was likely the first night of restful sleep she had had in a while.</p><p>After Lucifer had dealt with the thugs and taken any useful gear and money they had on them, which wasn't all that much in his estimation, he had moved some distance away to take care of the girl in case any more of them happened to come by.</p><p>First, he had removed her bindings. The rough rope had worn and marked her skin pretty badly thanks to their rough handling of her, but that had definitely been the <em>least</em> of her injuries. He hadn't even bothered doing a full injury assessment before healing her with his <strong>[</strong>Heal<strong>]</strong> spell. He had no need to know exactly how badly she was hurt, considering that a cursory glance was more than enough to see that she was seriously injured.</p><p>The Sixth-Tier healing spell also cured her of any diseases he hadn't known about if she had any, so that was another thing he didn't have to worry about either.</p><p>The healing of her body had led to a surprise revelation. The tips of her ears had apparently been brutally cut off some time ago, crudely making them look more like a human's in length, but Lucifer's healing magic had restored them to their full form, long and pointed.</p><p>He had stared at them with wonder once he had realized they had changed size. There was no doubt in Lucifer's mind that she was an elf.</p><p>A real live elf. The first of her kind that he had seen in this strange new world.</p><p>Lucifer remembered then that Chief Sprigg had mentioned that most slaves in the Empire were non-human and that the vast majority of them were elves. Some were bred from previously-owned slaves, but many, especially the newer ones, were elves captured in the long war between the Theocracy and the Elven Kingdom far to the southwest and then sent along via a vast slave trade network.</p><p>Even though the elf had been covered in dirt, with her injuries healed and all the bruises and scars gone, he was able to see that she was actually quite beautiful. People from his old world would have gazed at her with lust and wonder, and she probably would have been successful as a model or actress. The sight of her had made Lucifer wonder if all elves were this beautiful, like they were often depicted to be in the entertainment industry back in his old world. Because if so, then his world had apparently gotten things right with their portrayal of elves.</p><p>Once her physical injuries had been dealt with, Lucifer had come to the conclusion that it was probably best if he cleaned her up before entering the city, lest people notice how filthy she was and ask too many questions. The bloodstains and dried blood caked all over her body were especially noticeable.</p><p>He had struggled a bit internally with how to go about accomplishing that task, partly because he had never seen, let alone touched, a naked woman in real life before and it was making him anxious since she would have to be naked for him to properly clean her up. Although technically, with the state of her ragged clothing she was actually almost naked anyway.</p><p>She didn't have massive breasts or a large butt or anything like that. Her assets were proportional to her body, and he happened to find that very attractive. More attractive than overly and sometimes comically large assets that were sometimes given by content creators back in his old world to what was once only a fictional race in his mind.</p><p>If he had been capable of blushing, he would have been as red as a tomato at even the thought of what he was thinking of doing. Not that he would have taken advantage of her in any way. He wasn't like that.</p><p>He had only been looking at her. That wasn't necessarily a bad thing right? Especially since he needed to see in order to clean her properly. Still, it had taken him longer than he cared to admit to even begin the process of cleaning her. That process involved some magically created rags, his Pitcher of Endless Water, and lots of careful, nerve-wracking scrubbing.</p><p>He had tried his best not to stare too much and had made certain that there was no direct skin contact, keeping rags between his hands and her body at all times. Still, it had become too much a few times and he had to take a few short breaks to compose himself and rid his mind of any sexual thoughts, which was incredibly difficult. If he had his regular human body he probably would have passed out without even beginning the cleaning.</p><p>Lucifer had definitely felt like he would have had an easier time fighting a raid boss right then and there. The whole ordeal served to address at least one question he had been wondering about: whether or not he had a libido.</p><p>Lucifer already knew that he had all the necessary parts, having seen them for himself during the first night he had spent with his new body, but he had yet to actually feel any such desires of that sort until this moment with the elf. He had only been in this new world a short time of course so there hadn't been much time or even opportunity to find this out. Moreover, it had been very low on his list of things to figure out, but at least now he knew.</p><p>The answer to the existence of a libido was a resounding <em>yes</em>.</p><p>He only hoped that once she woke up she would never ask him any sort of specifics about how she got cleaned up.</p><p>When he had finished cleaning her to the best of his ability, he had taken a simple low-level cloak that he basically considered junk from his inventory and hastily put it on her. He unfortunately had no female undergarments for her to use, but he figured a cloak would do until she woke up and was able to get such things on her own. He wasn't about to go off buying women's underwear himself.</p><p>Once she was healed, cleaned, and clothed, he had carried her off to the city until they had ended up at the inn. Now, he waited for her to wake. He couldn't leave to go do the things he had come to the city to do because of the chance that she might wake up while he was gone. He needed to be there when she first awoke. She was now his responsibility.</p><p>After he had gone through all that trouble to rescue her, it was only natural that he take responsibility for her. Not that it ended up being that much trouble to free her at all, but he did spend the time and effort all the same. And for what he did, he was also going to get her to repay him with information. Learning about elves would prove invaluable.</p><p>From what he knew of them from his old world, they were supposed to be long-lived and more physically gifted than humans, stronger and faster, not to mention they were supposed to have great affinity with magic. He wanted to know if any of those things were true. He also wanted to know more about elven society in general, if she knew anything about it.</p><p>The sound of a wagon or carriage passing by outside distracted Lucifer from his thoughts. The world was on the move out there, and he was starting to feel a little antsy being cooped up in the room like this all night.</p><p>Lucifer had spent some of that time going over his short-term plan of learning what he could from exploring the city as well as studying the map that Chief Sprigg had provided so as to commit it to memory. He was certain that he could find another map in the city and made a note to compare the two once he found another.</p><p>He opened his eyes, golden orbs glancing towards the still unconscious elf girl.</p><p>She was still breathing, thankfully, but he was beginning to entertain the idea that she might have fallen into a coma. That would be a problem if she had.</p><p>He did have a spell or two that would probably wake her immediately, and some items that could do the same, however he didn't want to do that unless he felt absolutely necessary. He supposed that waking up in such a manner would likely feel very unpleasant and he didn't want to put her through that if he had a choice.</p><p>That would be akin to dumping a bucket of cold water on her face, except instead of water it would be magic bombarding her into consciousness. At least, that's how he thought it would be like. He didn't actually know for sure.</p><p>Waking up normally in her state was going to be unpleasant enough to begin with and she had been through too much for him to put her through that.</p><p>She had a slender frame made even thinner by malnutrition. Her body was mostly skin and bone with some tough muscle in between and practically no fat, the tough muscle the result of long hours of hard manual labor on the farm he had found her in no doubt. Her masters clearly weren't feeding her enough though, and it was a wonder that she had survived so long under such conditions. Assuming that she began to eat properly, it would probably take a while for her to get back to a healthy weight.</p><p>While Lucifer's <strong>[</strong>Heal<strong>]</strong> was able to mend most types of wounds and ailments instantly, it could not totally fix the effects of malnutrition that the elf was suffering. That was apparently beyond the scope of the healing spell, not that Lucifer fully understood why that was, nor did he care to. That was simply how it was.</p><p>With a sigh, he looked up at the ceiling and wished that he had some playing cards or something to help pass the time. His eyes suddenly went wide as a thought struck him then. Without really thinking about it last night, he had simply created rags with magic to clean the elf girl up with. That wasn't really something you could do in YGGDRASIL, and yet somehow he had done it.</p><p>The <strong>[</strong>Create Item<strong>]</strong> spell, and it's higher tier form, <strong>[</strong>Create Greater Item<strong>]</strong>, were only supposed to be used to create weapons, armor, or other equipment to be temporarily used by players or even allied NPC's. The stronger and more complex the item being created, the greater the mana cost. The expended mana would be reserved to sustain the item until the spell was cancelled, which caused the created item to disappear. The limit to the amount of items created would therefore depend on the amount of mana the caster was willing to essentially give up in exchange for the existence of the item created.</p><p>Of course, the quality of the item created was dependent on both the power of the spell being cast and the level of the caster. <strong>[</strong>Create Item<strong>]</strong> was a 5th-tier spell while <strong>[</strong>Create Greater Item<strong>]</strong> was a 7th-tier spell. Technically, the strongest item that <strong>[</strong>Create Item<strong>]</strong> could make would be a middle-class item while <strong>[</strong>Create Greater Item<strong>]</strong> could make anything up to relic-class.</p><p>In YGGDRASIL, there was a list – albeit a long one – of items that a player could create using these spells. This made it easier for players while also making sure the items created were balanced. It wouldn't do if players could create whatever they wanted out of mana and have it be too strong. There would have been many complaints from disgruntled players.</p><p>Lucifer wondered if all those rules still applied in this new world, though it was obvious that in this new world he was no longer bound by the list, and with an excited gleam in his eye he set about experimenting.</p><p>He looked down at his open right hand, palm facing up, and said softly, "<strong>[</strong>Create Item: Deck of Cards<strong>]</strong>."</p><p>A magic circle appeared in his hand, but then it fizzled and disappeared with nothing to show for the effort. He also didn't feel any drain on his mana. His disappointment was almost palpable.</p><p>What was he doing wrong? He thought about it for a moment. There was another component to this that he was missing. He tried to think back to when he created the rags last night. He was sure that he didn't do anything different and yet the rags appeared when he had cast the spell at the time.</p><p>Maybe he had to focus and picture in his mind the item he wanted to create? That seemed like a logical thing to do and it was certainly worth a try.</p><p>Picturing a deck of playing cards as clearly as he could with his mind's eye, he again cast the spell, focusing it in his hand. Light from another magic circle appeared in his hand and finally he felt the smallest bit of mana drain from him as a deck of cards appeared out of thin air and was now resting on his palm.</p><p>"YES!" he exclaimed with a rush of excitement, then his eyes went wide and he sheepishly glanced over to the sleeping elf. He was relieved to see that he hadn't woken her with his outburst. Returning his attention to the deck in his hand, he proceeded to lay out the cards by suit. Sure enough, it was a full set of 52 playing cards.</p><p>More questions bubbled up then. Would the created items disappear over time? Were the items continuously sustained by his magic or was the mana cost a one-time deal? And what were the limits of this creation magic in this new world, assuming there were even any.</p><p>The first question was probably only going to be answered as time went on and the items continued to persist. The second question was answered almost immediately as he focused within himself and sensed that the minuscule fraction of mana it took to create the deck of cards was not replenished. So the created item was drawing from his mana to remain in this world. YGGDRASIL rules still applied for that part at least.</p><p>Still, the spell theoretically should allow him to create anything so long as he could picture it clearly in his mind and he was willing to expend the mana for it. What if he created items that only existed in his old world, such as a computer or a car? or maybe even a bazooka? What about fictional items like a battle mech? Something to explore later on when he had the time and space to do so. And soon. The thought of being able to create whatever he wanted was too exciting and he spent some more time thinking about what he was going to do for his experiments.</p><p>"...uuunggghhh..."</p><p>The unexpected sound made Lucifer stiffen as his gaze settled on the elf girl once again. It had clearly come from her. Was she finally waking up?</p><p>The girl began to move ever so slightly, shifting her body underneath the blanket. This was more movement than she had done all night. Then her head moved some more.</p><p>This was it. She was finally waking up.</p><p>Lucifer was at her side almost immediately, sitting on the edge of her bed and watching her with an intensity similar to a child eyeing the biggest present they had to open on Christmas day, wondering what on earth it could be.</p><p>Her eyelids opened gradually, revealing dark blue eyes that seemed almost devoid of life save for the tiniest of sparks. It almost appeared like she was coming back from the grave, which would be somewhat accurate given everything that had transpired. Lucifer briefly wondered if she would have survived for much longer if he hadn't intervened.</p><p>She blinked a few times. Each time she did was slow, as if she were going through the process of how to blink in her mind and was reminding herself of the action. She was definitely in that haze of having woken up from a very deep slumber.</p><p>"You're finally awake," Lucifer said softly with the friendliest smile he could muster.</p><p>At the sound of his voice she slowly shifted her gaze around until her eyes settled upon Lucifer.</p><p>For a moment there was no reaction as they silently regarded each other. Dark and almost lifeless blue eyes meeting bright golden ones brimming with energy.</p><p>Then her eyes went from dull and sleepy to panicked and fearful in a flash, and she tried to pull the blankets further up in a vain attempt to either shield or hide herself while shifting her body away from him. Her breathing quickened as the rest of her body started to panic. Her reaction and sudden change in demeanor didn't surprise Lucifer in the slightest and he responded calmly.</p><p>"Please be calm. There's no need to panic. I can assure you that you are safe here and that no harm will come to you while you're under my protection," he said as soothingly as he could.</p><p>She said nothing while she continued to watch him warily, though she did stop trying to wriggle away from him, futile though the effort was given that she had barely moved a few inches away. There wasn't anywhere she could really go to get away from him.</p><p>"Now you're probably wondering 'who is this devilishly handsome figure sitting in front of me?'" he flashed her a winning smile, amused despite himself. "Well, allow me to introduce myself, miss."</p><p>The elf blinked at him, seemingly taken aback by his polite and lighthearted behavior.</p><p>He brought a hand up to his chest and with a slight bow of his head he said, "My name is Lucifer Morningstar and I'm the one who saved your life."</p><p>
  <b>xxxxXxxxx</b>
</p><p>Leinas dove to the side with all her might as the big wolf and its rider stormed past, the beast snapping at her heels and the rider swinging its sword through empty air as she managed to barely get out of reach.</p><p>"Now!" she yelled.</p><p>Jethro jumped out through the torn side in the tent that he was hiding in, plunging his sword deep into the wolf's rib cage as it had stopped to turn around and face Leinas once more. It howled in agony, raising up briefly on its hind legs before falling to its side and whining with its last few breaths as the archer stabbed it again and again in the chest, twisting his sword on the final thrust to finish off the beast.</p><p>The rider fell heavily to the ground as it was thrown off its fallen mount, and Leinas was there to end the rider's life with a quick spear thrust into its exposed neck area.</p><p>Jethro was on his last few arrows. Because of that Leinas had ordered him to save them for any potentially important targets that might show up, so he was now forced to fight with a sword. He was a decent melee fighter, but he was definitely much better with a bow in hand in a fight. He scavenged what arrows he could whenever he saw any that he could reuse, but it was nowhere near enough for another full on battle so he would have to pick and choose his targets with them.</p><p>Triston was still missing. They hadn't seen him fighting anywhere in the camp, nor did they come across his body. They could only hope that he was alive somewhere. He was one of the better warriors in Leinas' little army after all.</p><p>"These goblin riders are a pain in the fucking ass," remarked Jethro as he pulled his blood-soaked sword from the carcass of the wolf he had slain. "Though I think it would be pretty badass to ride into battle on one of these puppies! Assuming we could find one my size, of course."</p><p>The wolves were fast and their goblin riders a bit more skilled than the foot soldiers they had been fighting earlier. With Leinas' soldiers tiring, the goblin riders downed several in their first charge and further diminished their already dwindling numbers. They charged in quickly and recklessly before escaping so as to avoid prolonged combat. Their harassing tactics were pretty good for a small group.</p><p>Leinas had counted no more than twenty-five riders, and she and Jethro had killed a few already. After the last one that the duo killed, they seemed to retreat to wherever they had been summoned from, giving the survivors a moment of reprieve.</p><p>"I'd love to have a nice thick coat made out of this wolf's fur though. What do you think, Lady Leinas?" asked Jethro speculatively as he sat down on the dead wolf, not caring what he was sitting on while catching his breath.</p><p>Leinas ignored him. Looking around at the remains of her camp and her men, she could still scarcely believe this was happening. A part of her wished that she would wake up from this nightmare, and yet it continued.</p><p>The surprise assault had been devastating, and even though they were able to repel the attackers for now, it had come at a heavy cost. She estimated there to be only fifty or so of her men remaining, some of whom were badly injured, and she had started this expedition with a hundred of the best of the Rockbruise Family's soldiers. Her family had thousands to call upon should the need arise, but she had taken particular care to groom and train the men under her command and she had no doubts they were the best unit among them.</p><p>To see their numbers reduced so drastically was a painful blow.</p><p>"Well, seems they've pulled back. Maybe they'll call it a day and go back to whatever hell hole they crawled out from," Jethro mused darkly.</p><p>"I doubt it," she replied truthfully. She knew it wasn't over yet even though both sides had incurred heavy losses. For every man that she had lost, the enemy had lost at least three.</p><p>The problem was that the enemy was definitely aware of how many soldiers she had left, whereas Leinas had no idea of the enemy's numbers.</p><p>It certainly seemed like the only way to win was to find whoever was leading this sizable goblin army and neutralize them. And she had to do it fast. There was no telling what other reinforcements these goblins could call, and the longer they waited the more of her men died. The handful of remaining magic casters were out of mana and it was all the survivors could do to keep the remaining injured from passing on.</p><p>Retreat wasn't an option. Not only would they probably be hunted down, especially considering how slow they would have to travel due to the injured, if this goblin contingent managed to reach a nearby settlement, which was only a few days' journey from their location, it would undoubtedly be a massacre. That wasn't going to happen while Leinas Rockbruise still defended this land. Her family's land.</p><p>Still, she was feeling pretty tired and the effects of the hangover weren't completely gone from her system. The odds of winning were slim, but she never let on that she was starting to fear for her life. Few of her missions had ever pushed her this hard so far, but this was shaping up to be the hardest expedition yet.</p><p>Not that she could make sense of what was happening. This goblin contingent seemed to come out of nowhere. The expedition had been fighting other creatures of the forest before this, like giant spiders, packs of direwolves, and savage ursas among other aggressive creatures. They then moved on to clearing out some caves at the feet of the mountains bordering the forest.</p><p>It was there that they experienced their first casualties, in the deeper recesses of those caves where all manner of dark creatures stirred. That was when she ordered they pull back to the areas of the forest that they had already cleared in order to rest and regroup. The caves, and there were plenty, often had to be cleared out at least once a year as monsters would surface once again from the deep bowels of the earth, or wandering creatures would make a nest in the empty cave.</p><p>This year, the task had fallen to Leinas and her unit, and it had been going pretty well up until now. None of the other units in recent years had ever encountered a battle such as this before, and she wondered how those other units would have fared were they in this situation. Shaking her head to get herself back to the task at hand, she looked to Jhethro.</p><p>"Do you remember what direction that first horn came from?" she asked, thinking quickly. Whoever blew the first horn was likely either the leader or was close to the leader because they were the ones who gave the signal for the goblin riders to attack.</p><p>Realizing what she was getting at, Jethro looked thoughtful for a moment before he grinned and said, "That way." He confidently pointed with an outstretched finger towards where he remembered the sound of the horn came from.</p><p>Leinas didn't want to waste anymore time. She ordered five men to accompany her and then instructed the remainder of her soldiers to gather in the center of the camp and form a defensive line, tending to the wounded as best as they could manage. She then commanded that two soldiers go find any horses that were still around and to ride back with all haste to her family's castle to get help.</p><p>With that settled, she began to march in the direction that Jethro had pointed to, the archer falling into step behind her with the five other soldiers trailing him.</p><p>They were silent as they moved. Nervous and afraid just like she was, not that they were aware of her fear. She exuded confidence with each step. But the men at least were certain deep down that no matter the odds, Leinas would succeed and they would willingly give their lives to ensure that she did.</p><p>
  <b>xxxxXxxxx</b>
</p><p>She didn't know how to react at first, so she didn't.</p><p>That seemed to confuse the golden-eyed man, whose smile suddenly faltered from her non-reaction.</p><p>"Well that didn't go the way I thought it would," he muttered to himself. Then a look of realization crossed his face. "Wait a minute. What if..." he paused. "You were... which could mean... hmm..." A hand came up to his chin as he struck a thoughtful pose.</p><p>Her mind was racing even faster than her heart, which was quite the feat considering how heavy her mind felt. Waking up in this strange room with an even stranger human was reason enough to feel afraid. She was definitely not on the farm anymore. At least, the room didn't appear to be a part of the farm that she recognized. Unless... was this a new area of the farm? Or was she brought to a different land owned by her master?</p><p>She tried to remember what happened and how she got here but her memory was very hazy. Maybe she somehow got sent to a new master? Was this him? If so, then why was he being so kind to her?</p><p>He appeared to be wealthy given the quality of his clothes and the clean, handsome face that looked like it hadn't seen any real hardship before. The room, while simple, was still much nicer than what she had been allowed to sleep in at the farm.</p><p>The human focused his almost mesmerizing golden eyes on her. "Can. You. Understand. Me?" he said, carefully and loudly enunciating each word like he was talking to an old woman who was hard of hearing.</p><p>She blinked.</p><p>He blinked back.</p><p>She wasn't sure if he was joking or not at first, but he repeated what he had said, speaking even slower a second time. She didn't know what to make of it. Did he really think that she could not understand what he was saying? Who was this man?</p><p>"Damn. I should have thought of this possibility. Now what do I do?" he muttered to himself. His hand returned to his chin as he continued to talk to himself. "I suppose pantomiming might work until we figure out a better way to communicate. She should be able to comprehend that at least..."</p><p>She couldn't understand it, but something was telling her that she could trust this strange man. It was a strange feeling, one that she hadn't really felt before. At least not that she could remember. It was like a warm voice whispering in the back of her mind. Soothing. Friendly. Yet try as she might she couldn't really make out anything specific that it was saying. It was actually more like it was conveying a feeling.</p><p>Was this a spell of some kind? She knew there was magic that affected the mind, but she wasn't sure if this was what was happening.</p><p>This human who called himself Lucifer Morningstar didn't appear to be actively using magic at the moment from what she could tell, but it was possible that he had cast the spell before she had woken up. However, she didn't even know if he could do magic at all. At the very least she knew that not all humans could perform magic, unlike elves who all had the innate ability.</p><p>It was possibly an effect of some magic item he was wearing. Either that, or maybe it really was her subconscious or even her instincts telling her that he could be trusted. She didn't know what to believe. Regardless, the situation was very alien to her – a human treating her with kindness and care, speaking to her gently as if she were something more than simple property. As if she were actually a person.</p><p>"Am I... dead?" she finally dared to speak, her voice soft and quiet. It had taken a lot of effort to do so, but she wanted to hear herself speak. Surprisingly to her, she sounded perfectly fine and her throat didn't hurt from speaking like it usually did. It was no longer hoarse and strained, which it had been for the last several weeks from all the coughing she had been doing because she had been sick.</p><p>She found it strange to hear her real voice for the first time in a long while. It sounded almost like a stranger talking and for a moment she wondered if it was actually herself that had spoken or someone else entirely. Was this really what she sounded like before all of this? She could scarcely remember.</p><p>Lucifer, who had been muttering to himself the whole time, suddenly fell silent while he eyed her with an unreadable expression.</p><p>"So you <em>can </em>understand me," he said, sounding relieved. "Thank heavens, I thought this was going to be a lot harder than I bargained for. As for your question, well... I'm happy to say that you're very much alive. Besides, this wouldn't be much of an afterlife if you were dead." He gestured around the room as he said so. Not that he knew anything about what elves in this world believed to be the afterlife.</p><p>She let his words sink in. She presumed as much. Everything looked and felt real enough. She felt like she was still in her own body and was not some spirit or something, but she didn't understand why she felt no pain in any part of her body anymore. She also no longer felt ill. Instead, she actually felt pretty good, the best she had felt in years. If she was truly still alive, shouldn't she still be in pain?</p><p>It occurred to her that it was possible she had passed out on the farm and that this was all some kind of dream. She tried to remember what happened.</p><p>"I remember... a light..." she said, her eyes distant as the memory slowly came back to her. "It was... it was bright... up above... from the sky..."</p><p>She remembered more. She remembered being on the ground, numb from the overwhelming pain as usual. It was dark for a while as they dragged her back through the fields. Some of the men who worked for her master had caught her trying to run away again. Then out of nowhere there was a brilliant light that shone from overhead as if a star had fallen from its parch in the heavens and was bearing down on them.</p><p>Then everything was a dark haze from there.</p><p>"Ah. Yes. Well, that light was my own doing," Lucifer said with another smile and a hint of pride. "I guess it must have looked pretty awesome from your perspective, huh? I wish I had a video of it or something so I could see it for myself," he paused and muttered something about creating video recording equipment.</p><p>Then he continued to speak to her, "That landing was especially cool I think... I mean, not that I'm trying to brag or anything... though I suppose I do need to work on my entrances so I can have one for different situations. I'm new to this after all."</p><p>She didn't quite understand what he was saying, and it must have reflected on her face because he quickly launched into a brief explanation of what he was talking about.</p><p>"A video is... well... actually never mind. It's not that important, and you probably wouldn't understand anyway," he chuckled to himself before continuing, "So I guess you're wondering how you ended up here in this room with me. Basically, I was on my way to Oldaven on business when I happened to... come across you and those unsavory fellows who were dragging you along. Since you looked like you were in trouble I decided to swoop in and help you out. Then I healed you up and brought you here to The Rose Moon Inn in the city."</p><p>He didn't appear to be lying, and it was certainly believable enough given her current situation. The guards at the farm were used to violence and she had seen them undergo some informal training in fighting, but they were used to dealing with street fights, bar fights, or fighting helpless people who couldn't really hit back.</p><p>Since he seemed to have something to do with that strange light, she figured he was a magic caster of some sort.</p><p>A trained warrior, let alone a magic caster, would have had no trouble dealing with those guards if the situation ever arose. And apparently, in this case, it did.</p><p>She studied him even closer than she had been doing earlier. Taking a good look at his expensive-looking white robes trimmed in gold, and the athletic build of the body that it was currently covering up.</p><p>His eyes were definitely golden, not yellowish, and seemed to glow faintly with power. But it could also have been the way the light was shining into them, she couldn't really tell at the moment. His face had sharp features and lines, with a pronounced jawline that made him look even more handsome. She hadn't seen many humans in her life, but this man was certainly the best looking one she had ever laid eyes on, as if a god had carefully sculpted his face to a certain set of beautiful specifications.</p><p>"Is there something on my face?" Lucifer asked with a worried look. He wiped a hand gently across it like he had stepped through some spiderwebs and was clearing them off.</p><p>Her eyes widened and she felt heat rushing to her cheeks as she quickly looked away. "N-No..." she managed to say, her voice even quieter than before that she almost didn't hear herself.</p><p>"How are you feeling by the way? You shouldn't be in any more pain after I healed you," he asked with genuine concern.</p><p>"I... feel okay," she replied after a few seconds. She really did, as difficult as it was to believe.</p><p>She brought her hands up and stared at them, noting that while the hard callouses remained, there were no more cuts or bruises. Two of her fingers on her left hand had been bent and broken, part of the punishment she remembered receiving last night for trying to run away, and yet now they looked and felt perfectly fine. She moved them around and then touched them with her other hand and there was no pain at all.</p><p>When she was on the farm, any time her injuries became too severe they would bring someone to do some minor healing on her. Just enough for her to be useful and productive again. Never had they deigned to fully heal her like this human had apparently did. And it was strange to feel so... whole again.</p><p>"That's good to hear. The healing spell I cast should have healed any wounds and ailments you had. However, please let me know if you suddenly feel any pain whatsoever and we can get it sorted out," said Lucifer.</p><p>"No pain," she whispered and gently shook her head as she glanced at him before looking away again. Then she froze. Hesitantly, she reached her hands up to her head. If he had healed <em>all</em> her injuries, did that mean...?</p><p>Realizing what she was trying to do, Lucifer watched patiently and with a gentle smile as she felt for her ears.</p><p>Sure enough, her fingers felt the full length of her ears for the first time in ages, her index fingers tapping the points of them multiple times as if testing it to see if it were real. Her eyes widened, mouth agape for a moment, and then she began to sob. Tears welling up in her eyes within seconds and then streaming down her face.</p><p>Lucifer's smile turned sad and he had the urge to pull her into a hug, but thought better of it.</p><p>She was starting to think that this really must be a dream. Why would a human be so kind to an elf? Not only was she an elf, but she was a slave. For most of her life the last seven years, she had known nothing but pain and hardship at the hands of humans. She despised them as they hated her in return. They didn't think of elves as anything more than wild animals of the forest, surely not worthy of care or pity. And every human she had met since she had been taken from her home had perpetuated that image.</p><p>Except this man. This man named Lucifer Morningstar.</p><p>Humans were apparently capable of being nice. Of treating others respectfully and carefully. A fact that was utterly new to her. Unless this was all an act? She couldn't wrap her head around it, and even though the warm feeling in the back of her mind told her to trust in him, she couldn't stop herself from thinking that there was a chance this was all a trick.</p><p>She was well aware of how cruel humans could be. Her previous masters had played on her naivete when she was first put into service. Furthermore, she was still unsure of why this was happening and what he stood to gain from it, but at that specific moment she didn't really care. For the first time in a long time she felt good. And her ears! They had been returned to her.</p><p>She truly hoped this wasn't just some vivid dream, because if it was, this was certainly the most pleasant dream she had ever had and she didn't want to wake from it. She would rather die than return to that living nightmare that was working on that cursed farm.</p><p>After a few minutes had passed and her sobbing had died down, though she was still sniffling, she tried to blink away the wetness in her eyes as she looked at the blurry figure still sitting quietly next to her.</p><p>"Th... Th... Thank..." she couldn't even fully say the words, but Lucifer understood. She could hardly even believe she would say that to a human after everything she had experienced with them.</p><p>"You're most welcome." He flashed her another smile, not that she could really see it at the moment.</p><p>She attempted to wipe away the tears with the backs of her hands, succeeding only in smearing the liquid around her face some more as there was simply too much.</p><p>Calling up his inventory, he reached into the pocket dimension that it existed in and pulled out a small handkerchief. The perks of being a hoarder with way too much inventory space. The handkerchief was navy blue with gold stripes and was made of high quality ≪<em>Crystal Spider Silk</em>≫.</p><p>It was a reward for a low-level quest to help a nobleman whose house sigil colors were navy blue and gold. Normally, people would sell it for gold after receiving it upon completion of the quest since it was practically useless, but Lucifer had kept it as a memento of one of his first ever quests in YGGDRASIL. How long ago had that been?</p><p>At least now it could serve some purpose. As gently as he could, he wiped away the tears from her pretty face and then proceeded to place the somewhat damp handkerchief in her hands.</p><p>"There. All better," said Lucifer, his smile never faltering, "So if I may ask, miss, what is your name?"</p><p>Still sniffling, she bit her lip and looked at him. That warm feeling in the back of her mind grew stronger and though she was wary of it, she could not resist it.</p><p>"Kiah."</p><p> </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. Chapter 7</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Quick notes: Lucifer has levels in War Mage/Armored Mage (similar to Narberal) hence the fact that he can equip swords and armor and still cast spells. He does lean more towards magic than trying to go for physical combat, since he usually has summons to handle frontline work, but he can handle himself in a straight fight if needed. He is definitely not as powerful with magic as Ainz because of his balancing act, but he's still pretty formidable in that respect.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"Kiah," Lucifer repeated her name and nodded approvingly. "That's a beautiful name. I'd say it suits you perfectly."</p><p>It took him a second to realize how smooth he sounded, hearing the words come out of his own mouth. His old self never would have had the balls to even talk to such a pretty girl, let alone flirt with one, but then again he wasn't his old self anymore.</p><p>He was something new, a combination of his old self and his YGGDRASIL character Lucifer Morningstar, and being in this new body with all this power at his fingertips definitely gave him a degree of confidence he would have never imagined ever having. Especially after his run-in with the thugs last night.</p><p>The elf's cheeks turned several shades of red as she sat there silently, unsure of what to say. A human had just complimented her and it was so utterly unexpected that she was having a hard time processing that it had even happened. She couldn't even recall the last time anyone had complimented her in a normal conversation. Come to think of it, when was the last time she had even <em>had </em>a normal conversation?</p><p>In less than an hour, this strange golden-eyed man had seemingly upended everything she thought she knew about humans. Before meeting him, all she knew was hatred for them. She had thought them to be violent, malicious, and cruel creatures who looked down and spat upon all non-humans. Not to mention they were the aggressors and oppressors in a seemingly endless war against the elves, and she rightly despised them for it.</p><p>Yet here was a human with no malice in his voice or actions towards her, no hint of disdain or hatred, only a polite and gentle kindness that befuddled her. It troubled her that she now felt indebted to this stranger whose motives were unknown to her, though she wasn't sure what to do about it.</p><p>Her hands reached up to touch her restored ears one more time, making sure they were still there. That had been his handiwork too. She briefly entertained the idea that this might be some vivid dream of wish-fulfillment, but then brushed that thought off as unlikely. This all felt real enough to her. And she wasn't going to give her imagination this much credit.</p><p>Honestly, she couldn't even remember the last time she even had a proper dream while sleeping. And besides, for her there was an even better wish-fulfillment dream, one that she had dreamed about but only during the daytime when her mind thought so strongly about it. The thought of it darkened her eyes and brought a manic grin to her face.</p><p>In this dream she was slowly and meticulously torturing her former masters to death... watching with amusement as they pleaded for her to end their misery while she slowly stripped them of their sanity, piece by agonizingly bloody piece...</p><p>Her stomach growled, punctuating the silence that had settled between her and Lucifer, breaking her out of her dark thoughts.</p><p>"Oh right, you must be terribly hungry. Don't worry, I'll be right back with some food," Lucifer remarked. He didn't wait for her to reply, standing up and making his way out of the room and leaving her alone with her confused thoughts.</p><p>He had seen the slightest of grins on her face just now, however it looked a bit off. Almost crazed even. He presumed she was thinking about her newly restored ears and left it at that. He figured he'd be crazy happy to have them restored too if he was in her shoes.</p><p>Lucifer tried to temper his excitement as he made his way downstairs. Who would have thought that he would get to meet a real live elf? Not that he would have ever thought he would be transported into some strange new magic-filled fantasy world like this in the first place, but a part of his old self still found it really cool that this was all happening.</p><p>But he did wish he had met the elf under better circumstances. Nothing he could do about that now though.</p><p>Making his way down to the main hall, Lucifer came upon the innkeeper busy tending to his bar.</p><p>Otto Wyndham was his name, the proprietor of The Rose Moon Inn. The inn itself had seen better days, with some areas covered in dust and cobwebs. Some of the furniture in sight was damaged or plain broken too, but it was good enough for Lucifer's purposes for now. There would be time to find better accommodations later.</p><p>In front of the innkeeper was a collection of pint-sized wooden mugs, round ceramic plates, and various silverware that all looked to be freshly cleaned as evidenced by the droplets of water on most of the items. Otto was picking them up one by one and wiping them down diligently with a towel. He was the only one working at the inn, which was probably why some parts of it were falling apart. There was simply too much for him to handle on his own.</p><p>With short grayish-black hair and a worn wrinkled face that had several scars all over, some of them even crisscrossing each other, Otto had to be pushing fifty years old if he wasn't already over that mark. His body, however, was still solidly built like that of a man at least a decade younger, maybe more. His hard muscles were likely the result of years of physical labor and exercise, and Lucifer could tell from the way he moved that the man knew how to handle himself in a fight.</p><p>There was no doubt that the man's physique helped him keep any unruly patrons in line. The innkeeper's long crooked nose and scars were all clear evidence of a past full of conflict, though why he didn't get his nose set and healed properly was a mystery to Lucifer since it was an easy enough injury to fix.</p><p>Lucifer pondered how many of the innkeeper's scars were from fights at the inn. None of them looked particularly recent, which hopefully meant it was relatively peaceful these days.</p><p>It was getting close to midday at that point and there were a small number of people in the main hall quietly eating their meals. A trio of working age men were getting an early start to their drinking and were sat at the far end of the bar talking in low voices to each other. A few pairs of eyes glanced the angel's way when he entered, but nobody really cared enough to pay further attention to him, though his shock of spiky white hair definitely stood out.</p><p>The innkeeper looked up at Lucifer as he approached, his hands never stopping from their cleaning work. Apparently the man had done this enough times that he didn't even really need to look at what he was doing anymore as he continued to pick up, clean, and put things down while continuing to look at him.</p><p>"You here for your daily meal?" asked the innkeeper. His voice was rough as expected, but not aggressively so. It definitely grabbed attention when heard.</p><p>Lucifer nodded. "Make it two meals please, Mister Wyndham. I need to bring one for my companion as well."</p><p>Otto grunted in acknowledgement and finally stopped cleaning for a moment, setting the towel down on the counter before disappearing through a door behind the bar that led into the kitchens. About a minute or so later, he returned with two steaming bowls of stew.</p><p>"Here you go. Made it myself."</p><p>Lucifer wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not, but inclined his head in thanks and reached for the bowls. "Much appreciated, Mister Wyndham."</p><p>"It's just Otto," he said. Then when Lucifer was about to turn and head back upstairs, he asked, "How is she?" The innkeeper stared straight at Lucifer, who was surprised at the question. "Your companion," he further clarified, though Lucifer thought it unnecessary since they both knew full well who he was referring to.</p><p>Lucifer remembered the look of suspicion he garnered from Otto last night when he carried the unconscious girl with him into the inn, and Lucifer figured the man was simply checking up on her.</p><p>At the time, and for lack of a better explanation really, Lucifer had explained that they were traveling companions who had come from far away and that when the girl grew especially tired he offered to carry her the rest of the way to the city.</p><p>Otto had seemed skeptical at first, but she seemed to be unharmed and sleeping peacefully so the man eventually took Lucifer's word for it and gave them a room, though not without warning the angel that there better not be anything nefarious going on, to which of course the angel responded reassuringly that there wasn't any.</p><p>"My companion, Kiah, is fine. Thank you for asking," he answered, deciding that putting a name to the girl would help ease any lingering suspicions the innkeeper might still hold. "She only now woke up actually, the poor thing. Hungry and tired of course, but I expect her to be back on her feet soon enough."</p><p>"Good," was all the innkeeper said as he returned to his cleaning duties, apparently satisfied and no longer interested.</p><p>The conversation clearly over, Lucifer carefully made his way back to the room. His hands were so steady that he didn't spill a single drop of stew even as he ascended the stairs. He mused that he could probably perform delicate surgery fairly easily with the amazing body control that he now possessed, not that he would ever actually need to. Thank goodness for healing magic.</p><p>The raven-haired elf had barely moved from the spot on the bed where he had left her. She visibly tensed at first when the door opened, but seemed to relax a little when she saw that it was Lucifer.</p><p>The angel had so many things he wanted to ask Kiah, but he was able to restrain himself from bombarding her with those questions for now. There would be time for his questions to be answered later when she had recovered more of her strength. Plus he figured he would get more out of her if she was more comfortable and trusting with him, which would only come with time.</p><p>Shutting the door quietly behind him, he walked over with both bowls of steaming stew and placed them on the little nightstand between their beds.</p><p>Her midnight blue eyes watched him the whole way like a predator waiting to pounce at the right moment on some unsuspecting prey. The steaming bowls of food had not escaped her notice, and the aroma of the stew filled the small room fairly quickly. Perhaps it was the smell of the food or merely the sight of it that made the elf's stomach grumble loudly once more. Probably both.</p><p>She glanced down at her stomach, placing a hand on it and looking slightly embarrassed at the sounds it was making.</p><p>"Come on, let's get you seated upright so you can eat some of this food," he said, hoping that said food tasted well enough to eat. He would find out soon enough.</p><p>She shot him an odd look but said nothing as he helped her sit up. Then he took the pillow from his bed and stacked it on top of her own, allowing her back to rest against the pillows for support.</p><p>"There. Does that feel okay?" he asked, receiving a silent nod in reply. "Excellent."</p><p>Lucifer sat down on the edge of the bed and reached for the first bowl of stew. He took the spoon that came with it and mixed the stew around before carefully taking a scoop out. It looked and smelled decent enough to eat.</p><p>He then brought the spoonful of stew up towards the elf's mouth.</p><p>It took Kiah a second to register what was going on, and the look of shock on her face as she moved her head away slightly gave Lucifer pause.</p><p>"W-What are you doing?" she asked, looking at the outstretched spoonful of stew and then at Lucifer with bewilderment.</p><p>"Feeding you," he replied matter-of-factly. Was it really so shocking that he would try and help her eat? She was still pretty weak after all.</p><p>"I c-can see that. I'm not blind you know." Her hands gripped the blanket that covered her legs.</p><p>Lucifer shrugged. "You asked what I was doing."</p><p>"Yes, but... Well, I mean..." He did have a point.</p><p>He carefully put the spoon back into the stew with the handle resting on the edge of the bowl.</p><p>"What's the matter?"</p><p>She didn't meet his gaze as she stared down at her lap, her pale arms now crossed over her chest. How could he not understand what was wrong with this picture? Humans and elves were enemies and yet here was a human caring for her, an elf, like she was some pampered lady? Granted, everything in the last hour or so had been an experience she thought impossible, but this... this was too much.</p><p>"Kiah?" he prompted her after a while, causing her to flinch a little at the sound of her name. He looked at her with worry, "Are you alright? Have you lost your appetite?"</p><p>"No... that's... that's not it," she finally responded, and her stomach growled again as if to confirm that she was indeed still hungry.</p><p>The hunger was really gnawing at her stomach now that there was food so close at hand, and her body was aching for her to start eating already. The rational side of her supposed that given all that had happened and her current situation, getting spoon-fed by her human savior was not too crazy of an event, but her emotions on the other hand were strongly conflicted.</p><p>"Then what's the matter? Do you not like stew? Or perhaps you don't like this type of stew specifically?" he asked thoughtfully, "I can go get you something else if you'd like. Tell me what you want and I'll bring some back for you. We're in the city so I'm sure there are all sorts of foods available here, although it would probably take me some time to get it for you."</p><p>He didn't mention that they were on a bit of a tight budget at the moment too. At least until he was able to secure an income. And without really knowing what prices were like it was hard to say for sure how long the money he had would last them.</p><p>He was slightly disappointed in himself that he didn't even consider the possibility that the elvish diet was different from that of humans. Were they all vegetarian like they were often depicted in his old world? Or maybe pescatarian or something similar? The stew did have some beef in it, or at least it looked like it was beef to Lucifer. He really wasn't sure what it was now that he thought more on it, but it was definitely some kind of meat.</p><p>"It's not that!" She was still too weak to really shout loudly, but she certainly tried. The difference in volume of her little outburst was pretty noticeable.</p><p>Lucifer was inwardly surprised at the outburst, though he appeared unfazed on the surface as he continued to look in her direction. Something was really bothering her and he couldn't quite place it, but he had a feeling it was because of him somehow.</p><p>"F-Forget it. Please just... let me eat on my own. I can manage," she said after another small silence had settled between them. She finally glanced at him briefly before uncrossing her thin arms and looking back down at the palms of her hands. She didn't really want to mention why she was feeling uneasy because the more she thought about it the more trivial it seemed.</p><p>"Very well," replied Lucifer, not wanting to push her on the subject. "The bowl is a bit hot so be careful," he warned her and carefully placed the bowl in her hands.</p><p>Kiah winced at the sudden heat as the bowl was pressed against her palms, but a second later she realized it wasn't so bad. She took the spoon in her right hand and with some effort was able to shakily bring it up to her mouth, spilling a little bit on herself but not really caring. With a deep breath of satisfaction as the hot stew hit her tongue and filled her mouth, she gulped it down.</p><p>She felt it slide all the way to her stomach and the resulting surge of warmth and relief that filled her felt amazing. Even though the stew itself was a simple salted broth with some meat, lettuce, and carrots, it tasted wonderful and was the best thing she had tasted in a long time.</p><p>Lucifer was impressed at her tenacity. He could clearly see that she was struggling with handling the spoon, her finger strength and dexterity affected by her weakened state, and yet she forced herself to power through. That same tenacity that kept her from releasing her hold on this world when he had found her in that field last night, despite all the pain and suffering she was experiencing.</p><p>It didn't take her long to wolf down the bowl he had given her, even bringing the whole thing up to her face and tipping the remaining contents into her waiting mouth. A few drops dribbled out from the sides of her mouth and she licked her lips in response, letting out a pleased sigh afterwards. The bottom half of her face was messy with saliva and stew, but she didn't really care about her appearance right then.</p><p>She looked at the empty bowl with a tinge of disappointment. It had not been enough to really fill her up, but it was certainly enough to keep her from starving.</p><p>Lucifer's lips twitched into the smallest of grins. He was happy that she was eating and seemed to enjoy the food. He took the empty bowl from her before she could even think to start licking it clean. Then he proceeded to give her the second bowl, at which point she once again gave him a confused look.</p><p>"Aren't you going to eat?" she asked, her voice still small and quiet. It only made sense that the other bowl was his and yet he was offering it to her so readily like he had been planning it all along.</p><p>Lucifer shook his head. "I'm not hungry at the moment so no need to worry about me. Besides, you need it more than I do. Trust me."</p><p>It was the truth, though she would never understand the extent of it. This new body of his was not... mortal. That was such a strange thought to him that he wasn't really sure that part of his transformation had really sunk in yet. He was <em>immortal</em>. Now wasn't the time to think about that though.</p><p>There was one other reason for him not eating and that was because he wanted to experiment how long he could go without food and if there were any negative effects to that, although he was certainly now curious as to how the stew tasted.</p><p>The stew must taste decent enough that she was able to eat the first bowl so quickly without much complaint. But it was also possibly the hunger she was feeling that made her consume it all with such impressive speed. They must not have fed her much of anything while she was working on that farm, and the the thought of it irked him.</p><p>She looked down at the new bowl of stew in her hands intently and he could tell she really wanted to eat it, but still she hesitated.</p><p>"Are you sure?"</p><p>"Absolutely."</p><p>"Okay then... If... If you're really sure..." she trailed off like she was expecting him to interrupt her and change his mind at the last second. But that didn't happen and he stayed silent.</p><p>Kiah was a little apprehensive about it, but she was also still hungry enough not to protest too much and so proceeded to consume the contents of the second bowl without any more questions. This time she ate slower, savoring what little flavor there was and relishing the fact that her belly was getting well and truly filled for the first time in a while.</p><p>Her stomach was probably going to hurt from being full for the first time in forever, but it was a pain she could certainly deal with. Usually her stomach hurt because she <em>didn't</em> have any food.</p><p>When she finished with another satisfied sigh, Lucifer took the bowl from her once more and stacked it onto the other empty one on the nightstand. He then reached for the handkerchief he had given her earlier, which was lying on the bed next to her, and proceeded to gently wipe around her mouth and chin, much to her surprise once again.</p><p>"Thank you..." she whispered even more quietly than she had been speaking before so that he barely heard her. She didn't know what else to say.</p><p>"You're welcome, Kiah," replied Lucifer with a small smile, "Are you still hungry?"</p><p>She shook her head.</p><p>"Do you need help laying back down?"</p><p>"I... can manage."</p><p>"Okay. But please don't push yourself too hard."</p><p>Glancing at the dirty handkerchief next to Kiah, a thought occurred to Lucifer just then. There was a Third Tier spell in his arsenal that might just work to clean it, though that was not the original purpose of the spell. Curious to see if it would work, he held a hand over the used handkerchief.</p><p>"[Item Restoration<strong>]</strong>."</p><p>A glowing magic circle formed around his hand, and then the entire handkerchief began to glow as well. A few seconds later and the light show stopped, revealing a now spotless handkerchief as if it had never been used in the first place. Elated at the success of his experiment, he repeated the spell once more, this time on the cloak that she was wearing. Again the stains from the spilled stew disappeared.</p><p>While technically used to repair low or medium class equipment from damage, the spell also resulted in the item getting cleaned. It worked by returning an item to its original state and could only be used on non-living things. Admittedly it was not the best use of mana to be casting the spell simply to clean some items, but he couldn't leave her with a dirty handkerchief and cloak and he had neither the time nor the inclination to wash them manually.</p><p>Besides, what was the point of his massive mana pool, high mana regeneration, and ability to use magic if he didn't actually put them to use? Already he could feel the mana he had used was replenished.</p><p>Kiah watched him with fascination, having never seen such a spell before. Like all elves, she was capable of performing magic, however her magical education was haphazard and incomplete due to the Elven Kingdom's war with the Slane Theocracy. Many of the experienced and talented magic casters were fighting on the front lines and few remained who could properly teach everyone. And her community was pretty small within the Elven Country to begin with so she didn't have many resources to draw upon before she was taken.</p><p>The little magic she knew was druidic and her knowledge was vastly incomplete on that subject. The main thing she could do was to coax plants to grow faster than normal and for certain ones to sprout out of the ground without needing seeds, and any plants that she personally handled and took care of also grew quicker and stronger, which was why she was put to work on the farms by her masters. Well, her old masters.</p><p>Thinking back on what happened to her in the past darkened her thoughts again for a moment before Lucifer's movements returned her attention to the present.</p><p>Getting to his feet, Lucifer decided that it was finally time to go out and get some things done. His absence would also be able to give the elf time and space to rest further. At least she was now made aware of her situation and he was confident that she wouldn't try and run away or anything.</p><p>Concentrating, he called forth his armor made of Star Silver from his inventory and donned everything from the greaves and gauntlets to his winged helmet and plated cuirass. It was getting easier to bring things in and out of his inventory now, the more he used it.</p><p>As the name of the prismatic ore suggested, the metal resembled silver, but had a slightly different texture and had a certain sheen to it that was uniquely different. It almost seemed like it was glowing from within. And although it looked like silver, the metal was far stronger and lighter than even adamantium.</p><p>The whole set was named ≪Armor of The Divine Champion≫ and was enchanted with two active spells and several passive ones.</p><p>For active spells, there was <strong>[</strong>Silent Movement<strong>]</strong>, which greatly reduced the movement noise of the armor, and there was <strong>[</strong>Divine Radiance<strong>]</strong>, which caused the stored divine energy within the armor to explode outward in a blinding flash of holy light, causing massive divine damage to anyone within a thirty meter radius. It needed a full day to recharge after each use.</p><p>The passives included enhanced durability, enhanced physical and magic defense, and enhanced mana regeneration while also giving slight boosts to agility and strength among other things. In short, the armor was incredibly powerful and boosted his already considerable stats and abilities to an even greater level.</p><p>The armor also did a great job of making him look like a bad ass and he wished he had a mirror right then so that he could take a good look at himself. It took him a moment to remember that he technically could create one if he wanted to, however he decided against it since Kiah might think he was overly vain and he wanted her to have a good impression of him.</p><p>Next were his two short swords, ≪Judgment≫ and ≪Executioner≫, one fastened to each hip.</p><p>≪Judgment≫ was crafted out of Celestial Uranium, one of the rarest prismatic ores, and was among the most valuable items he possessed. He had to call in some big favors to get his hands on it, and even then he only received enough of it to make a few items.</p><p>≪Executioner≫ was made out of Scarletite, another prismatic ore, and it had cost Lucifer no small amount of YGGDRASIL gold to obtain it from a particularly famous master blacksmith a couple of years back.</p><p>He decided against bringing out his greatsword for now, which he had named ≪Oblivion Blade≫, figuring that if he ever needed to use it he could simply call it out from his inventory at any time. It was his most powerful melee weapon and he wanted to keep that in reserve for now.</p><p>Again, all Kiah could do was watch in amazement as the man's equipment seemed to appear out of thin air. Even though she wasn't well-versed in magic nor had she witnessed much high-level magic before, she had a feeling that this man was really powerful.</p><p>Lucifer didn't notice her look of utter amazement as he finished adjusting his armor. With his equipment securely and comfortably on him, he finally looked back over to Kiah, who was still staring at him in awed silence.</p><p>"Something the matter?" he asked.</p><p>She slowly shook her head and then let out a slight cough.</p><p>It occurred to him then that she didn't have any water and she was likely going to be thirsty at some point while he was gone. Reaching into his inventory, he withdrew the ≪Endless Pitcher of Water≫ and then, using <strong>[</strong>Create Item<strong>]</strong>, he made a ceramic pitcher and a cup. Pouring water from the ≪Endless Pitcher of Water≫ into the ceramics, he returned it to his inventory once he was done. There was no way he was just leaving something like that out of his inventory.</p><p>He noted that the created items barely cost him any MP to maintain, and if he had to guess it was only costing him at most 1 MP point due to the small sizes, low-quality of the material, and simple designs he had created. Satisfied that she would not go thirsty while he was away, Lucifer then grabbed the stacked bowls with a gauntleted hand and made his way to the door. He paused when he reached it, one hand grasping the handle as he turned back to the elf.</p><p>"You should make sure to get some more rest, Kiah. Your body still needs additional time to recover."</p><p>"Yes... will you... will you come back?" she asked with a hint of worry.</p><p>"I need to run some errands now, but not to worry I'll be back later. I promise that no harm will come to you if you stay in this room. You'll be safe here," he told her with an air of supreme confidence.</p><p>"Okay," she said. The nervousness in her voice was not lost on Lucifer, but he had other things to accomplish and there was nothing more he could do here for her at the moment. He took one last look at her as she slowly settled herself back into the bed.</p><p>"Get some rest," he reiterated before he stepped out the door and shut it behind him. Raising his right hand towards the door, he concentrated on the mana he could feel flowing through his body as he called forth his magic. Magic circles formed one after the other and the doorway glowed several times as the spells took effect.</p><p>"<strong>[</strong>Anti-Life Barrier<strong>]</strong>. <strong>[</strong>Absolute Alarm<strong>]</strong>. <strong>[</strong>Seal of Protection<strong>]</strong>. <strong>[</strong>Dimension Lock<strong>]</strong>. <strong>[</strong>Sanctuary<strong>]</strong>."</p><p>With those spells in place, he was confident that she would be safe until he returned. Even if she was attacked, the alarm spell was connected to his consciousness so he would know immediately and be able to return to the inn quickly. And woe be to anyone foolish enough to attempt such an act.</p><p>That being said, he would still aim to be quick and efficient with his errands.</p><p>Returning the empty bowls with another word of thanks to the innkeeper, Lucifer asked the man where the Adventurer's Guild was located and then made his way to the front doors of the inn with long and purposeful strides.</p><p>It was time to finally explore the city of Oldaven and gather some more information about this world. First stop: the Adventurer's Guild.</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>xxxxXxxxx</b>
</p><p> </p><p>The Imperial Palace was an expansive and magnificent complex of expertly constructed stone buildings in the heart of Arwintar, the sprawling capital city of the Baharuth Empire. Centered around a massive domed structure that stood several stories tall, hundreds of meters wide, and flanked by several beautifully designed minarets (towers), the whole place was a product of the best engineers and artisans the Empire had to offer.</p><p>It was truly a sight to behold and was a testament to the wealth, prestige, and strength of the Empire. For many travelers who had been to both the Re-Estize Kingdom and the Empire, the Imperial Palace far outshone the Kingdom's Royal Palace, and unfortunately for the Kingdom it wasn't even a close contest.</p><p>With its many open air gardens, fountains, and statues, the exterior grounds of the Imperial Palace were as impressive as the beautifully decorated and designed interior certainly was. And it was in one of these gardens that several figures clad in fine clothes and expensive jewelry were out for a stroll.</p><p>The group of clearly wealthy people had been walking and talking for some time now, having made their way through several of the outer gardens in the process of their discussions that morning.</p><p>Leading the pack was none other than Prince Jaque with straight dark brown hair that fell to his shoulders and a neatly-trimmed beard and mustache. On his head was a thin crown of gold to indicate his status as a prince. His blue eyes were piercing and calculating as they looked out into the world with sharp attention.</p><p>His flowing black cloak was affixed around his neck by a golden brooch. The cloak was made of top quality velvet while the brooch was in the shape of a roaring lion's head with rubies for eyes and diamonds for teeth, an exquisitely crafted item. Underneath was a simple and yet well-made red silk tunic with gold trimmings that went down to a little past his knees.</p><p>On his feet were leather sandals that on first glance might look simple, but closer inspection revealed that the leather was of the highest quality and there were designs depicting Imperial forces in battle minutely carved into every surface. Fastened around his waist was a belt of the finest leather with the buckle made of pure silver. On top of the buckle was a regal golden lion rearing onto its hind legs mid-roar, the one visible eye embedded with yet another ruby.</p><p>His fingers were covered by several rings of the highest quality, one of which was of course a golden lion's head with the mouth wrapped around the right ring finger, as if eating it. The one on his left ring finger was the large golden Ring of the Imperal Family, which had the Empire's crest. Anyone within eyesight of the prince would be hard-pressed to not notice it.</p><p>The Imperial Family ring had thankfully been enchanted to be lighter than it actually was, otherwise it would have been bothersome to wear it all the time, and of all his rings this was the one Jaque never took off.</p><p>To behold the prince was to see a confident and proud man whose clothes and jewelry screamed immense power and opulence, and that was exactly who he was.</p><p>"I hear the Dragon Kingdom's delegates left Arwintar yesterday," mentioned the only female of the group, the Marquessa Claudette Lorraine. It was more of a question than a statement.</p><p>She was a shrewd woman of middling beauty and a veteran of the courtly game that they all played, rising in prominence once her husband the marquis passed away several years ago. Her curly red hair and smooth, pale complexion was a famous sight in the noble circles.</p><p>They walked past a row of gorgeous flowers and well-trimmed hedges and it was the prince who responded to her, "As we discussed previously, our relations with the Dragon Kingdom have improved considerably once we agreed to enter talks to support them in their ongoing war against the savage Beastmen Country. Unfortunately, without father's consent, we are unable to proceed any further at this time. They are aware of this and are, at least for now, being surprisingly patient."</p><p>True enough, the Dragon Kingdom delegation was set to return within a fortnight. They were willing to wait that long, at least. Though if there was still no answer by the time they returned, they would certainly ask the other nations such as the Theocracy or the Kingdom for aid if the Empire was unwilling or unable to provide it.</p><p>That outcome was unacceptable to Jaque.</p><p>Any agreement the Dragon Kingdom struck with the other nations would undermine the Empire's own influence and power while strengthening those of its rivals. If the worst were to happen, he did not begrudge the Dragon Kingdom for seeking out the help of the other nations though - given their situation, he would surely be of the same mind. The survival of their nation was paramount to all other considerations in their situation.</p><p>Technically, the Court Council that assisted the Emperor in ruling the Empire could make a decision without the Emperor if it was a unanimous vote, but it was not a precedent that Jaque wanted to set, especially before his hopeful ascension to the throne. While the Imperial Princes as well as the Court Council were given leeway to craft and negotiate deals and make minor decisions and rulings, for major decisions and laws the Emperor had to directly approve.</p><p>If only his father would stop clinging on to life so desperately so that he, Prince Jaque, could finally take over and begin his reign as the new Emperor of the Great Baharuth Empire. Was that really so much to ask? Then as Emperor he could finally make decisions and spur action, some of which were quite pressing at the moment. Currently, the Empire was essentially in a holding pattern while the Emperor was indisposed, and it was getting on his nerves.</p><p>"Is it really necessary to throw our lot in with that Dragon Queen? Would it not be better to let their country wither and fall and then take over when they've exhausted themselves?" The question came from Count LeGrand way in the back of the group of eleven nobles, excluding the prince. They were the core group that supported Jaque and knew of his desire to become the next Emperor, hoping that when he rose to power that he would also elevate them along with him.</p><p>Another noble closer to the front, Earl Dupont, who was a member of the Council, responded, "You're not seeing the bigger picture, Count Legrand. I am myself not necessarily fond of supporting them in a war we have no direct stake in, but at least I understand the consequences should the Dragon Kingdom fall. We would have those wild beastmen right at our borders soon enough and, emboldened by their success against the Dragon Kingdom, they would no doubt turn their unsavory sights on the Empire. They are no laughing matter, after all, the Dragon Kingdom is strong and yet they are asking us for support."</p><p>"Don't forget that if we do not support them in this matter, they may find support elsewhere. And that might lead to an alliance or agreement of sorts in the future that may well be detrimental to us," added another noble, Earl Marchand.</p><p>There were several murmurs of agreement on that front and Jaque was glad they recognized the dangers in not dealing with this matter appropriately.</p><p>"Surely our own forces could handle some wild beasts with subhuman intelligence? Or do you not trust our armies to handle such matters, my friends?" Count Legrand pressed further, frowning.</p><p>Earl Dupont shook his head. "We have full faith in our armies should the need ever arise, but that's exactly the point. We shouldn't need to. Why do we need to trouble ourselves with committing a significant portion of our fighting force to deal with the beastmen when we should be building up our strength to one day take Re-Estize for ourselves? There are larger goals we must focus on. Let the Dragon Kingdom deal with the beastmen, albeit with a little help from us."</p><p>Another round of agreements came from the other nobles and Count Legrand did not speak any further on the matter. He was clearly in the minority on this subject and he knew better than to continue.</p><p>"How is your father our Lord Emperor doing these days, your highness?" asked an elderly gentleman in the middle of the pack, changing the subject. His name was Viscount Blackstone, a man of some influence in the court and was one of many who were eager for there to be minimal waves made when the impending succession occurred. He was also a member of the Court Council.</p><p>"He has shown no signs of improving nor has his health deteriorated any further according to our best healers. At this point they are doing all they can to keep him alive, but it appears to be only a matter of time before..." the prince trailed off, his tone subdued.</p><p>Though he was not overly fond of his father, he did still respect and love him in his own way. He was a capable ruler, strong and steadfast, and he had guided the Empire into a stronger and more prosperous position up until now. But he had certainly not been the best father to him and his brothers.</p><p>Except for the youngest one, of course. Their half-brother Prince Jircniv born from the Empress Alana, his father's second wife.</p><p>The Emperor had openly doted on Jircniv, spending far more time with the child than he ever did with his older children, and Jaque wasn't sure if it was because he looked so much more like their father than any of the other children did or if it was because of some other reason.</p><p>Jaque had to admit that Jircniv was definitely sharp-witted and a quick-learner for his age, which in a way made him quite special he supposed. Never had Jaque hated someone more than that violet-eyed brat, however. It made his blood boil just thinking about him.</p><p>Was he, Prince Jaque "The Young Lion", not good enough to receive similar treatment from his father? What more did he have to do in his father's eyes? How many troubles did he take care of for the Empire and for his father since he entered the court of nobility? How hard had he worked to improve his position and that of the Imperial Family over the years?</p><p>The thought of Jircniv soured his mood and it must have showed because Earl Marchand, who had been walking closest to the prince, cast a worried glance in his direction.</p><p>"Your highness?" Earl Marchand said with what appeared to be genuine concern.</p><p>Blinking, Prince Jaque shook his head to clear away thoughts of his half-brother as he regained his composure.</p><p>"I'm fine. Think nothing of it," he said with a dismissive wave of his hand.</p><p>The Earl nodded in acceptance as the contingent of nobles walked from one garden, through some covered stone walkways, and then into another. The group discussed several more pertinent matters relating to the operations of the Empire, both specific and general, before the prince finally stopped in his tracks. The nobles followed suit, the group coming to a standstill with all eyes glued on the young prince.</p><p>"And this is where I must leave you, lady and gentlemen," said the prince as his gaze swept across the group, "There are other pressing matters I must to attend to. As usual, it was a pleasure, and I will speak to you all again soon."</p><p>With that the nobles bade him farewell without complaint and they parted ways.</p><p>Before continuing with his work though, Jaque resolved to first pay a visit to his father and check in on his condition. The thought of his father's current state as well as his plans to succeed him weighed heavily on his mind.</p><p>Prince Jaque took his time as he entered the main structure of the palace and navigated the halls and stairwells almost unconsciously. He barely even registered the bows he received from the servants or the soldiers of the Imperial and Royal Guards that he walked past. His mind was preoccupied with thoughts of what was to come, and it made him somewhat nervous.</p><p>Periods of transition were always difficult for both the ruler and the nation. He prayed that it would pass without much trouble, unlikely though that was to happen.</p><p>It took some time, given the size of the palace, but he finally found himself in front of a set of heavy adamantite doors with the Imperial Crest emblazoned in pure gold at the center of each door. The handles were fashioned out of mithril and were cool to the touch.</p><p>As to be expected, the two Imperial Knights that guarded the door had bowed as he approached and now stood completely still on either side of it. Their adamantite plate armor was dyed black and trimmed with silver and gold, as was customary for the elite warriors that served as personal bodyguards to the Imperial Family, and it made them look formidable.</p><p>Tasked with protecting the Emperor was an elite unit of knights called 'The Four Imperial Knights'. Some would even shorten it to simply calling them 'The Four.' They were supposed to be the best and most talented warriors in the Empire, with the equipment and items to match their prowess. Each of the princes was allowed to have up to two Imperial Knights of their own, but three of the brothers had only one in their service, and only the Emperor had a group of four.</p><p>Prince Jupiter was the only one who didn't keep an Imperial Knight in his service, since he himself was a warrior of renown already and was a part of the Imperial Army. Technically, the soldiers that he commanded were his bodyguards, but none of them were as skilled as the Imperial Knights. Not even close.</p><p>After a long breath, he pulled the door open and stepped into the large room beyond it.</p><p>To his surprise, waiting for him on the other side was another Imperial Knight, although this man was far more imposing than the two stationed out front. He was a little taller than average height at a shade under six feet tall, but he was built as solid as a boulder, with a thick neck, wide chest, and massive shoulders. Even his legs looked like tree trunks. Though it was the shining pair of adamantite tower shields taller than him, one strapped to each arm, that really caught the eye.</p><p>Sir Nazami Enec, "The Unassailable", was a veteran soldier of the Empire and had long served the Imperial Family in his position as an Imperial Knight. His presence was large and unavoidable whenever he was in sight and the prince was simply glad that he was loyal and on the Empire's side.</p><p>The knight was standing with his back straight in the middle of the room, ever vigilant, and you might have even mistake him for a statue if you didn't look too closely. His face was expressionless as he stood watch silently. He was the complete opposite of chatty since most people have never even heard him utter a single word, which made him all the more intimidating.</p><p>This was a man who truly let his actions speak louder than his words, and Jaque definitely respected that. However it did make him wonder if the knight was actually a mute.</p><p>Nazami dropped to one knee and bowed his head upon seeing the prince, and Jaque nodded to him in acknowledgement.</p><p>"You may rise, Nazami," he said calmly and the knight obeyed without a word. "Is my... Is the Empress in there with father?" He gestured towards another door on the far side of the room.</p><p>The knight nodded, his expression unchanging. His eyes appeared to be closed as if he were napping, but Jaque was not fooled. From what he was told, the knight had keen senses and was quite observant despite what his outward appearance might suggest. Very few things could escape his notice, and they didn't call him "The Unassailable" for nothing.</p><p>Without another word Jaque left the knight standing there and moved on to the Emperor's bedchamber.</p><p>That room was also large, with a high ceiling that had several crystal chandeliers and silk banners hanging from it. Every piece of furniture, from the tables and chairs to the bed and dressers, was created by the most talented craftsmen in the Empire. All the details were intricate, the materials of the highest quality, and the workmanship masterful. This was meant to represent the height form of luxury in the Empire, and it definitely showed.</p><p>Though at that moment in time the curtains were drawn shut over all the floor-to-ceiling windows and the only light came from some magical lamps by the bed.</p><p>Jaque hoped to enjoy it for himself one day soon, when all this was in the past. He walked over to the large four-poster bed that was occupied by one person: his father.</p><p>The Emperor's once handsome features were shriveled up and faded. His eyes were sunken, his skin was wrinkled a hundred times over and deathly pale, and his hair had no trace of the golden hue that it once had, replaced instead by the grayish-white of old age. He looked like a man with one foot in the grave, and regardless of Jaque's thoughts on his father's rule and conduct later in life, it still pained the prince to see his once proud and commanding father in such a state.</p><p>Only the Emperor's shallow breathing, his chest moving slightly up and down, indicated that he was still alive. Not that this was much of a life anymore, unable to do anything except lay there half-dead. It would certainly be a mercy if his life were to be ended soon.</p><p><em>Don't worry father. I will make sure to continue your legacy as Emperor of the Baharuth Empire</em>, thought Jaque as he looked on.</p><p>Sitting beside the Emperor was none other than his second wife, Empress Alana, with her golden brown hair decorated with flowers as befitting her title as The Flower Empress. The golden crown that she wore on her head had precious gems shaped into different flowers too; it was a crown specially made for her and even Jaque had to admit that it was very beautifully crafted.</p><p>Not even the sound of the prince entering could get the Empress to turn her gaze away from her beloved husband. Both her hands were clasping the Emperor's frail right hand as gently as she could.</p><p>The air was still and quiet as Jaque stood off to the side, waiting to be acknowledged.</p><p>There were only two people in the whole Empire who had a higher rank than he, and both were in the room. Even though he schemed and planned to win the throne for himself, he respected the rules of decorum and would never give the Empress the satisfaction of ever thinking him to be anything less than a proper prince. Especially in this troubled time.</p><p>She still hadn't looked away from the Emperor, and the prince wondered if her body felt stiff from staying in such a position for so long without much movement. If she was at all uncomfortable, she didn't show it.</p><p>Jaque wasn't sure how much time passed before the Empress finally broke the silence.</p><p>"Your father misses you, Jaque."</p><p>The words hit him hard, so taken aback was he that his whole body physically reacted by actually taking a step back.</p><p>"He d-does?" he stammered before quickly regaining control of himself, heart pumping faster. "Ahem. Well, I'm sure he misses all of his children, as a proper father should."</p><p>"You're right. Of course he misses your brothers as well," said the Empress as she reached a hand out and stroked the Emperor's gaunt cheek. "But he did mention your name specifically."</p><p>Jaque's mouth opened and closed a couple of times before he found his words. "Did you speak with him? Was he awake? What did he say?" His mind was swirling and he felt unsteady on his feet. He moved to grab hold of the dresser nearby to steady himself.</p><p>She finally turned her head to look at him, the dark circles under her bloodshot eyes making her look almost creepy in the dimly lit room. Her mouth formed into a smile, the first one he had seen from her since the Emperor fell ill.</p><p>"Yes. Can you believe that we spoke earlier, Jaque? Isn't it simply the best news? He woke up for the first time since he fell ill right when the healers were tending to him today. Your father... the Emperor will recover!"</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>xxxxXxxxx</b>
</p><p> </p><p>The streets were busy by the time Lucifer stepped out of the inn, the noonday sun shining hot and bright overhead. It smelled of sweat and dirt and a touch of manure as he made his way through the city in the direction of the Adventurer's Guild.</p><p>It was a beautiful day with clear skies and not a cloud in sight. However, the air in the city was heavy with the heat and only the barest of breezes managed to make it through the streets. With the sun high overhead, the temperature continued to climb and Lucifer definitely felt it intensifying around him, yet it didn't appear to affect him in the slightest. He had no idea if he was capable of sweating, but he reckoned he would find out soon enough the longer he stayed out in the sun.</p><p>Wagons, carriages, and people on horseback passed through the middle of the paved streets as people walked along on either side, everyone going about their daily lives despite what seemed to be quite the heat wave. Most of the people were sweating profusely and appeared to be struggling with the heat, while Lucifer continued to be unaffected after some time walking outside.</p><p>Perhaps this new heteromorphic body didn't have sweat glands? Or maybe it wasn't hot enough to make them work just yet. He might have to go somewhere even hotter to find an answer and mused that he could always try the inside of a volcano. That would definitely settle the question, no doubt.</p><p>Lucifer earned many appraising looks on his journey through the city as people caught sight of him in his shiny silver armor, and he was starting to think that perhaps it wasn't the best idea to be trotting around with his most prized armor set. The people of this world had never even heard of any of the prismatic ores, let alone seen them, so it was bound to draw attention. A few kids had even openly gawked at him before their parents pulled them away.</p><p>This was something he should have anticipated and he felt disappointed in himself that he had failed to do so. So much for trying to keep a low profile.</p><p>Still, it was easy enough to switch his armor out. Not that he was keen to do so since he was most comfortable in his Star Silver gear, but it was more prudent at this point to try not to garner too much attention while he was still gathering more information on this world.</p><p>Ducking into a sparsely populated side street and then into a dark and empty alleyway, he cast <strong>[</strong>Greater Invisibility<strong>]</strong> on himself and then proceeded to change his armor.</p><p>Instead of his usual Lightbringer set, which was Divine-class gear, he settled for a new-world-friendly set of adamantium armor that was only Legacy-class. He had a few other adamantium sets, some that were even one step higher as Relic-class equipment, but those armors were either a little more cumbersome than he preferred or were too flashy for his purposes.</p><p>The Legacy-class gear that he had chosen was a lot simpler and would hopefully garner less attention. The fur-trimmed adamantium on this set was tinted obsidian black with silver lines and highlights, which made it somewhat useful for covert operations. Replacing his angelic winged helmet was a less ornate horned one that reminded him of some viking warrior, or perhaps a lowly demon. It still covered most of his face, with a long thin horizontal slit for his eyes and a few even thinner vertical slits along the bottom half for ventilation.</p><p>This would have to do. He didn't want to wear anything less protective in case he was ambushed and didn't have time to switch into his normal gear. With a sigh, Lucifer made sure nobody was around before he cancelled the invisibility spell and continued on his way.</p><p>After going through what seemed like half the city, and thankfully no longer receiving as many curious looks as he had been earlier, Lucifer eventually arrived in front of the Oldaven Adventurer's Guild Hall. He had only gotten a little bit lost, but for the most part he navigated the city fairly well on his first try. A small part of him did wish he still had some sort of minimap that he could've used for guidance.</p><p>The Guild Hall was a large square stone building about five stories tall and taking up almost an entire block by itself. Numerous arched windows dotted the building, each one with a set of open red shutters to either side. Carefully cultivated vines gave the structure some character, the green plants crawling and twisting along the surface of the stones.</p><p>A flight of curved stone steps led up to the heavy wooden double doors framed by an impressively carved archway. Sitting atop the apex of the arch was a stone gryphon the size of a small dog, seemingly emerging out of the stone and keeping watch with its sharp eagle eyes.</p><p>Since Oldaven was one of the major cities in the Empire it was only appropriate that the Guild building would be rather large and impressive to match, though to be honest Lucifer was a little underwhelmed. He had seen far more impressive buildings in the past, but perhaps it was unfair to judge it in comparison to them.</p><p>A few people walked by along the street, but nobody went in or out of the building while Lucifer was studying the exterior. No one seemed to be paying him much attention either and they likely thought he was just another adventurer given his attire and the fact that the Guild Hall was right there.</p><p>He was curious as to what kind of defensive magic was in place on the building so before walking in he decided to take a little peek. Looking around to make sure nobody was really watching, he quickly cast <strong>[</strong>Detect Magic<strong>]</strong> on the building as discreetly as he could.</p><p>He was stunned when the spell discovered only a handful of lower-tier defensive spells. Either they were supremely confident that nobody would attack the Guild Hall directly, or they were incredibly foolish. He could think of a dozen Fourth Tier and even some Third Tier spells that could overwhelm their measly defensive measures and cause some serious damage if he personally decided to attack the building. Any higher-tier spells would undoubtedly cause much devastation before they could even think to react.</p><p>Both intrigued and disappointed by the relative lack of defenses, Lucifer stepped inside and immediately noticed the drop in temperature. This was definitely a result of some spell that manipulated the inside temperature. The sensation felt strange to him since he could tell if the temperature was hot or cold, but his body didn't react physiologically, neither feeling the chills nor sweating.</p><p>The doors led into the main hall, which was wide and spacious with various chairs, benches, couches, and tables scattered throughout the space. The ceiling was about two stories high and there was a balcony all around on the second floor that overlooked the whole entry hall. Lucifer saw at least one flight of stairs from the main hall that led directly up to that floor.</p><p>The whole space reminded him of a big hotel lobby, except there wasn't any of the usual lobby music playing. Idly wondering if they'd ever think to have musicians playing background music here, he continued to study the hall.</p><p>He guessed there were private meeting rooms and such up on that second floor, which explained the direct access from the main floor, though he could only guess what any of the other floors might be used for. Most likely there were some offices and maybe some storage spaces, but this building was pretty big so there had to be more to it than that.</p><p>There were several dozen people in the hall, many of them sitting around in groups. Most of them looked to be adventurers, with metal plates hanging from their necks and weapons and armor equipped. Almost all of them were engaged in talking with one another so there was a constant murmuring sound that echoed across the hall.</p><p>Several figures were gathered around some large boards situated around the hall. Each board was filled with what looked like posters, so it was safe to assume these were the job boards from which adventurers picked their quests. A familiar sight to anyone like him who had played many RPG games.</p><p>At that moment, the doors behind Lucifer opened once again, prompting him to step aside as a party of five adventurers entered. He counted two warriors, a ranger or thief - it was hard to say for certain, and what looked to be a priest and a mage. A balanced party, though their equipment looked fairly basic. He couldn't quite tell what kind of adventurer plates they were wearing, but it was grayish so he thought it might be iron or possibly silver.</p><p>Their youth surprised him, not that he was that much older, but some of the members of the party definitely looked to be in their mid-to-late teens.</p><p>The leader of the party appeared to be a fierce-eyed brunette woman clad in leather armor with spiked metal pauldrons and plated leather boots. She had a sturdy iron shield strapped across her back emblazoned with a flying Pegasus and a decent-looking steel sword hung from her waist. Her skin was nice and tanned and she reminded Lucifer of one of those warrior goddesses from Greek or Roman mythology with her hair intricately braided into a single thick ponytail behind her.</p><p>The other members of the party were all fairly relaxed and talking to each other as they walked in, with the brunette warrior alone and silent at the front of the pack as the others followed in her wake. She gave Lucifer the curtest of nods as she walked past, her olive green eyes hard and serious. She looked to be on a mission with the way she was moving with such purpose, and maybe she actually was.</p><p>Her fellow party members didn't even really notice Lucifer as they followed along. The group went straight to one of the counters manned by a Guild receptionist and appeared to be turning in a quest they had just completed as they put some of their loot haul on the counter as proof. A few minutes later and the receptionist they were talking to handed them a leather pouch full of what Lucifer could only assume was money.</p><p>Having observed enough and seeing that everything looked pretty straightforward, Lucifer went up to what was essentially the front desks, for there were multiple counters. Finding the next available Guild receptionist, he stepped up to her and received a welcoming smile in advance as she looked him up and down, no doubt appreciating his high quality equipment and the confidence with which he carried himself.</p><p>Then she frowned slightly, her eyes resting on his chest where she had expected to see an adventurer's plate but instead found none.</p><p>"Good afternoon, sir! What may I help you with today? Are you by chance registering with the Guild or are you submitting a job request?"</p><p>"Good day, miss. Pardon my ignorance, but I'm new to this country and am not too familiar with the Guild. Would you mind telling me more about it?" he started off with a friendly smile.</p><p>She clasped her hands together, smiling once again.</p><p>"Certainly, sir. I'm honestly surprised you haven't heard of the Guild before, but I'd be more than happy to answer any questions you may have. Was there anything specific you wanted to know?"</p><p>"Hmm... first I'd like to know about jobs. What kinds of jobs does the Guild accept? And what is required to submit a job request? Can simply anyone walk in and submit a request?"</p><p>She launched into an explanation almost immediately, telling him that the Guild was open all day and night and accepted job requests from anyone. The Guild asked for as much detail as possible. They also clarified what was the end result that the client was looking for as well as any time constraints.</p><p>The Guild then determined how realistic the demands were and whether or not the job was legal and adhered to Guild rules. Once clear of that hurdle, the job is then assessed for difficulty, which then sets the required adventurer rank to undertake it. This also determined the price charged to the client.</p><p>That all made sense to Lucifer so he nodded to show that he understood and the woman kept going.</p><p>"We then collect payment, which covers Guild fees as well as the payout to the adventurers who complete the job. Should the potential employer have insufficient funds, the Guild can still post the job as long as the Guild fees are paid, but the lower payout to adventurers will mean it is unlikely to get picked and completed. Depending on the circumstances of the request, the Guild or even the country the Guild is in may be willing to finance some portion of the cost."</p><p>The angel stroked his chin thoughtfully. "I'm curious, does the Guild accept any simple mundane jobs? For instance, if I wanted someone to carry some heavy objects such as furniture for me from one side of the city to the other? Or to cook a special meal for me?"</p><p>The woman shook her head. "No, all jobs handled by the Guild involve either attacking or defending against monsters in some way. The Guild is above such menial tasks as cooking or moving heavy objects, though adventurers are of course welcome to take outside contracts like that if they please, so long as they don't break any Guild rules in the process. In the situation you described, I would advise renting a horse and cart instead of trying to find someone to carry things for you."</p><p>Lucifer figured as much but he wanted to be certain, and he was amused and appreciative with the advice about renting a horse and cart even though it seemed a little patronizing when she said it.</p><p>"Speaking of payment, what if a client wanted to give more than the set payout that the Guild comes up with?"</p><p>"You can absolutely do so. So long as the minimum amount is covered and the Guild fees are paid, the employer is free to add to the payout for the adventurers. The higher the payout the better the chances the job gets taken and completed quickly. You could even offer a portion of the payout up front. From my experience, that usually gets the quest noticed pretty quickly."</p><p>"I see... what if an adventurer wishes to take the quest but is not happy with the payout?"</p><p>"Quests are taken on a first-come-first-serve basis, and normally jobs only require one adventurer party unless stipulated otherwise in the job details. That being said, adventurers who are not happy with the proposed payout can reach out to the employer and negotiate with them directly, but they cannot accept the quest without first settling the matter of payment," she explained and paused to take a breath.</p><p>"This means that adventurers cannot take a job and hold it while negotiating a higher payout with the client, so the job remains open even if they're already in contact with the client regarding pay. The Guild is interested in getting jobs done as quickly as possibly, so while the first party is negotiating price another party can swoop in and take that job at the original price since it's still fair game."</p><p>"Alright. Fair enough," remarked Lucifer. That meant that most of the time once the price was set it was highly unlikely that the pay would change since nobody wanted to risk losing a job they wanted to take simply because they were trying to haggle for a better payout. And it appeared that the Guild didn't really care who did the job as long as they were qualified and could get the job done properly.</p><p>"Next question: you mentioned adventurer ranks and while I am aware of some of them, could you please list for me the ranking hierarchy so that I'm clear on them all? And what does it take to rank up?"</p><p>She nodded, clearing her throat before saying, "There are eight ranks in total. From lowest to highest, there is Copper, Iron, Silver, Gold, Platinum, Mithril, Orichalcum, and lastly Adamantite. There are two ways to rank up: the first is to complete challenging and dangerous tasks that show your strength and power, and the second way is to take the official Guild test. However, the Guild only has tests up to Gold rank. After that, the first way is the only path to reaching the higher ranks."</p><p>"I see. How many Adamantite ranked teams are there currently? And is it possible to be demoted?"</p><p>"There are currently only five Adamantite ranked teams in the entire known world that I am aware of. There are two in the Re-Estize Kingdom to the west called, the first is called Red Drop and the second is Blue Roses. To the south, in the Dragon Kingdom, is the team known as Crystal Tear. Lastly, here in the Baharuth Empire, we are proud to have two such teams, the Eight Ripples is the first and the Green Fangs is second."</p><p>"Only five in the whole world? Interesting," said Lucifer. "They must be pretty strong."</p><p>"<em>Very </em>strong," the woman emphasized. "The Guild does not bestow Adamantite ranks lightly. Now as for demotions," she paused, her smile fading a little, "Yes, it's possible to be demoted. Usually this is for Guild rules infractions or breaking government laws. Depending on the severity of their transgression, it's possible for an adventurer to even be expelled entirely and banned from ever becoming an adventurer again. Repeated demotions may also result in expulsion, however."</p><p>Lucifer raised an eyebrow. "Has that happened before?"</p><p>"Yes. It's rare, but I know of a handful of past incidents that turned out like that. I am unable to share those details with you, however." She sounded apologetic but firm on that front. He was not going to get anything else out of her on that topic.</p><p>"Understandable," he said. He was definitely going to try and find out more about those incidents later. "Let's talk about registration. What do I need to do to register myself as an adventurer?"</p><p>"Well, obviously you must be properly equipped," she purposefully looked him over one more time, "And I can clearly see that you are. There is the basic Guild registration fee of 5 silvers. Then you must pass a literacy test, which costs 5 copper coins. Lastly, you must pass the practical entrance exam."</p><p>Lucifer was intrigued. "What do I have to do in the practical entrance exam?"</p><p>"That I cannot say specifically, but it involves demonstrating combat skills in front of an official Guild member."</p><p>"If I were to display high enough combat skills, would it be possible to skip any of the lower ranks?"</p><p>She shook her head and said, "No, unfortunately not. Even if you were to slay a dragon for your test, you must still start off as a Copper plate. Those are the rules and there are no exceptions," she shrugged and looked apologetic, "However, once you are a Copper plate and pull off a similar feat again, I'm sure the Guild would then consider allowing you to skip ranks. That would be at the discretion of the Guild Master though."</p><p>It was worth a shot. He did see the merit in it, albeit must be frustrating in the beginning for anyone who is already an experienced fighter. Forcing everyone to begin at the lowest rank and showing no favoritism or exceptions to that rule meant that everyone was on a level playing field when starting off, and it was only through hard work and success that an adventurer could advance.</p><p>Lucifer looked through his coin purse. He only had 12 silver coins and 29 copper coins left from the money he appropriated from the thugs after already spending some of it for lodging at the Crescent Rose Inn. The tiny room he was in cost five coppers a day and he had paid enough for at a week up front. He had also paid an entry fee at the Eastern Gate.</p><p>As an adventurer, he had no doubt that he would earn a decent income once he got started so he was not too concerned about money anymore. This would be well worth the investment. He placed five silvers and five coppers on the counter.</p><p>The receptionist flashed him a big smile as she took the money, carefully looking over the coins to make sure they were authentic before hiding them away somewhere behind the counter. She then reached for something from beneath the counter and pulled out a piece of paper with a lot of writing on it.</p><p>"Here is the literacy test. Please read it over and answer any of the questions asked. When you're finished, sign your name at the bottom and hand it to me for verification. Please note that this will also constitute as your contract to sign on with the Guild."</p><p>Lucifer realized that the literacy test was simply the rules and regulations of the Guild. There were some questions that he had to write out answers for that were designed to make sure the applicant knew what the rules meant. It was easy enough to read through thanks to his ability as an angel to understand all languages and since he was a quick reader it only took him a few minutes to finish it up and double-check his answers.</p><p>He handed it over to the receptionist who looked it over and then took a wax seal to stamp it near the bottom.</p><p>"Great! It looks like you passed the literacy test without any issues. Now that that's settled, and before we continue with the registration process, I do have a question for you, sir." She had a determined look in her eye.</p><p>"What is it?"</p><p>"Do you have a party? Or people who you might be able to form a team with? Adventurer work is dangerous and going at it alone would make it even more so."</p><p>Lucifer shook his head. "Not at the moment, however please don't be too concerned. I assure you that I can manage on my own very well."</p><p>She gave him a look that said she had heard that before with unfortunate results.</p><p>"I strongly recommend that you find at least one other person to party up with because, as stated in the rules, a party can only be granted a job if they have at least two members," she said with a lecturing tone. "Now let me put together all the appropriate paperwork and I'll get back to you shortly. Please feel free to take a seat anywhere in the hall and I'll find you when I'm finished."</p><p>She proceeded to go into some back room with the test he had just completed, leaving Lucifer to wander over to the nearest job board. He wanted to check out the types of job requests being made.</p><p>He would probably be forced to start with low-level quests like slaughtering some wild boar or giant rats or something. It had been a long time since he had to do such trivial tasks and it got him excited to start questing again like he did in YGGDRASIL. A whole new world to explore, with hopefully new monsters to fight too.</p><p>The party of five adventurers he noticed earlier was standing in front of the board that he ended up approaching. They looked like they were in the middle of picking out their next job and Lucifer couldn't help but observe as he moved closer as discretely as he could so as not to draw attention to himself.</p><p>"... vote is for us to take a few days off. We've done five jobs in a row now! I'm exhausted! Mentally and physically! These are almost slavish working hours, and I am no slave!" complained the mage in a nasally voice. Leaning on his long ashen staff that had a blue orb at the top end, he definitely looked like he hadn't had a good night's sleep in a while.</p><p>"I'd have to agree. Oudy here has a point. Five jobs in a row is the most we've done in a long time, my friends, so we should really consider taking some rest and relaxation time. Rest plays an important role in a party's success in the long run," remarked the armored priest, speaking as if he were a professor lecturing students. "Tired minds and bodies leads to greater risk of injury... or worse." The priest clasped his hands together in prayer as he bowed his head in silent prayer.</p><p>The other warrior of the group was a fairly rugged mountain of a man with bare arms and legs of corded muscle and long slightly curly dark hair that reminded Lucifer of Samson junior or maybe a mini Hercules. Strapped across his back was a massive double-headed ax. The only armor he appeared to be wearing were boots, gloves, a breastplate, and what looked to be some kind of thick leather and fur shorts.</p><p>The warrior easily towered over the party and he barked at the others in a low voice. "Quit being soft you two. If River wants to go out again, we go. End of story."</p><p>"Arnaud, I'm not being soft... I'm being practical!" replied Oudy, the mage, with annoyance. "Can't you see I'm about ready to fall over from exhaustion here? What if I were to accidentally shoot a fireball at your back because my arms cramped in the middle of a battle?"</p><p>"Soft," repeated Arnaud, eliciting a tired glare from the magic caster.</p><p>"Gods help us," whispered the priest though it was still loud enough for all to hear. He appeared to still be praying and Lucifer wondered if there were any specific prayers or if he was simply speaking to their gods as if having a conversation, albeit one-sided. Something to look into when he went to the Temple.</p><p>The ranger spoke up this time, his arms crossed and looking thoroughly unamused. "Aren't we a party? Don't we all have a say in what we do? Since when did this become River's decision?"</p><p>"Since she is the leader of our party," Arnaud responded quickly, crossing his own much beefier arms as he glared at the ranger.</p><p>"And she'll lead us to an early grave if we keep going at this rate," rebutted the ranger, adjusting the bow on his back as he narrowed his eyes at the big warrior.</p><p>"No," said the big man, "<em>I'll</em> be the death of <em>you</em> if you don't shut your mouth!"</p><p>"Please, Arnaud, Ethan, everyone just relax..." the priest tried to say but was cut off by the irate ranger.</p><p>"You want a piece of me, ya big brute?" the ranger, Ethan, asked in challenge, "It's about time someone knocked some sense into that big... err... small brain of yours."</p><p>Lucifer had to hand it to the ranger, even though the man was easily dwarfed in size he didn't appear to be backing down one inch from the warrior. Though Lucifer's gut was telling him that the ranger was purposefully goading the big warrior, which made him a rather foolhardy teammate.</p><p>The big man growled and took a menacing step towards the ranger, his large fists clenched. This was going to be an interesting fight.</p><p>"Enough!" the voice of the female warrior, who was apparently named River, rang out and caused them all to freeze in their tracks. She pinched the bridge of her nose and closed her eyes for a few seconds, letting out a long sigh. Opening her eyes again, she leveled her steady gaze on each member of the party while she spoke.</p><p>"Ethan, Arnauld, the both of you need to shut up and stop acting like children," she admonished them then continued, "Oudy and Laurence, you make a valid point that we need to rest. So this is what we're going to do: we will rest for two days. Do what you will in that time. On the morning of the third day, we will meet back here and go on our next job. Understood?"</p><p>There was some grumbling but everyone seemed to accept her decision. Even the ranger who so boldly appeared to challenge her leadership earlier was rubbing the back of his neck and not meeting her gaze. Apparently his bark was worse than his bite.</p><p>"Good," she said with some satisfaction. It was always this way with the boys, and she had thought she might get tired of it, but so far she hadn't. Maybe she was simply used to their antics by now.</p><p>Her hands shifted to rest on her hips, elbows flared out in a power pose as her attention drifted over to Lucifer, who stood nearby pretending to look at the board behind them. "You there. In the dark armor with the horned helmet. Can we help you with you something?"</p><p>Lucifer smiled underneath his helmet. Somehow, she had noticed that he was actually observing them rather than the board. Pretty good instincts on her part. This woman was incredibly confident in herself too and had total command of this group.</p><p>He wondered how much of her confidence matched her fighting ability and was starting to imagine what she might be like in battle before he got a hold of himself. There would be time to fantasize about the fighting skills of a warrior goddess later.</p><p>"Forgive me, my lady," responded Lucifer with a slight bow, "I was simply fascinated by your party's chatter. I've just signed up to be an adventurer and-"</p><p>"Not interested in weaklings." It was Arnaud who butted in, apparently having sized up the angel and found him lacking. To him, Lucifer looked like he was wearing all that expensive-looking high-level gear to compensate for an innate weakness in strength.</p><p>"Tch." River looked annoyed and the big man shrugged, unapologetic.</p><p>Lucifer held up both gauntleted hands, then made a 'T' with his hands. "Okay, hold on. Time out. First of all, I wasn't trying to join your party-"</p><p>"Good," Arnaud interjected, eliciting a side glare from both River and the angel.</p><p>"- and second of all," Lucifer continued as if he hadn't heard the big warrior say anything. "I'm new to the Guild and about to be Copper rank so I doubt I'd be able to join you on your jobs anyways since you appear to be... uhh... higher ranked, yes?"</p><p>The ranger looked at him with a mixture of pity and annoyance as he chimed in, "Silver. We're Silver-ranked adventurers, thank you very much. Newly minted, actually... so you might say we're the freshest Silver bloods on the block. Maybe if you ask nicely we'll consider letting you carry our stuff on the next mission."</p><p>Lucifer chuckled at that but didn't say a word. Silver-ranked adventurers meant they were fairly skilled warriors.</p><p>River ignored the ranger and said, "That's a very impressive set of armor you've got there for someone who isn't even an adventurer yet."</p><p>The armor and the weapons that hung at his waist had caught her eye when she first sighted him by the entrance earlier. To the untrained eye, the armor might seem pretty regular, but River knew better than that. She had seen her fair share of armor sets as an adventurer, and this was something special.</p><p>"Thank you, my Lady. It is quite nice, isn't it?" replied Lucifer as he made a show of examining his own equipment, "It took a significant amount of time and resources to get all of this made, but it was well worth it in the end."</p><p>"Please stop calling me a 'Lady'," she said with a sigh, "I can only imagine how much that cost you." In fact, she estimated the armor alone had cost at least a few thousand gold given the quality of the craftsmanship and material. This man was walking around with a small gold mine. "If I may ask, what kind of metal is it made out of? It looks familiar and yet... strange."</p><p>Lucifer was taken aback. Was their adamantium different than the one he knew in YGGDRASIL? Realizing he had been silent for a few seconds, he answered, "Oh, this is regular old adamantium, actually."</p><p>"Really?" she asked in surprise, "But it looks <em>different</em>." Maybe it was because of the lighting in here? She found herself feeling a tad ashamed for not recognizing it if it really was adamantium.</p><p>"It's the color," offered the ranger as an explanation, looking closely at the armor himself, "I've never seen black armor tinted that... well, black, before. It's almost like it doesn't even reflect light like it should."</p><p>"May the Four Great Gods protect us from the darkness of evil..." said the priest with eyes closed. He had been murmuring his prayers in the background this whole time.</p><p>Lucifer gave him a sidelong glance. Given that last line and the current topic of the conversation, Lucifer was starting to think the holy man wasn't actually praying seriously.</p><p>"I suppose that would explain it," River said thoughtfully, then added, "You must be nobility of some kind to afford such equipment."</p><p>"Oh I know this one! Let me guess," said the ranger raising his hand in the air as if he were a brown-nosing school student answering a teacher's question, "You're the third son of some high lord of the Empire trying to make his name on the world because daddy's attention, title, and stuff all go to the favorite firstborn son. Sound about right?"</p><p>"You know, that's not as far off as I thought you would be," admitted Lucifer with a chuckle.</p><p>Technically, he was Lucifer Morningstar, the highest of the angels and the one who defied his Father in part because he was jealous of God's favorite creation being the humans. There was of course more to it than that, such as Lucifer's desire to be a god himself, but that was one of the many aspects of this character's background.</p><p>"Nailed it!" The ranger happily pumped his fists. "I always knew I had the <em>gift</em>!"</p><p>"Bless us, oh Gods..." the priest was still going on with his prayer off to the side.</p><p>"Puny noble in shiny armor," remarked Arnaud as he flexed one of his big arms. Lucifer could see it in his eyes that he wanted to fight him and test his strength, though he had enough restraint not to do it here and now. That was likely because of River's presence keeping him in check.</p><p>The mage meanwhile had found the nearest seat and plopped himself down on it when he realized the group wasn't going anywhere just yet, hugging his staff as he apparently decided to take a nap right then and there.</p><p>"So tell us, what noble house are you from then, Lord...?" asked River, her tone shifting from challenging to curiosity. Third son or not, nobility held a lot of weight in the Empire and it would be prudent not to upset one if possible.</p><p>"My name is Lucifer Morningstar, but <em>please </em>do call me Lucifer," he said with another bow, "As for my noble house, well... you wouldn't know it. So no need for the title when speaking to me. I'm from a land far away from here. In fact, it's so far away that you might even say I'm <em>from a different world</em>."</p>
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<a name="section0008"><h2>8. Chapter 8</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"The forgotten noble <em>Lord</em> Lucifer Morningstar!" exclaimed the ranger dramatically, then he toned it down a notch and said, "I've never heard of such a name before, <em>l</em><em>ord</em>, so you're definitely not from around here, are ya? I do gotta admit that's a pretty cool name you've got there. Hopefully you've got some skills to go with it."</p><p>"From another world...?" whispered the priest curiously to himself, though Lucifer was able to hear him well enough. The holy man had been listening to their conversation after all, as he had suspected.</p><p>"Hmph," grunted Arnauld, unimpressed, rolling one of his sizable shoulders. "I'm leaving now. Getting food," he said, no longer interested in what was going on. He trudged off towards the main entrance of the Guild Hall.</p><p>"Ignore them. Well met, Lucifer Morningstar," River spoke more politely this time, confidently crossing the distance between them and holding out her hand to him. She looked through the slit in his helmet straight into his eyes up close and was astonished to see two almost glowing golden orbs staring right back at her from between the slit of his helmet. She had never seen anyone with golden eyes like that before.</p><p>Recovering quickly, she continued, "Being an adventurer is no easy task, but it is a noble profession in my opinion. I wish you well on your journeys ahead."</p><p>"You're gonna need it!" added the ranger as he waved goodbye and followed after the big warrior who had left, though not before draping an arm around the priest and dragging him along too.</p><p>"I appreciate your kind words, La-... ahem... River." Lucifer took her arm in a warrior's grip, his hand grasping close to her elbow as he had seen countless ancient warriors do in the old world media.</p><p>Surprised at the gesture, since she had been expecting a simple handshake, River returned the grip with a solid one of her own and grinned respectfully. "Should you need some advice or even a little training, feel free to seek us out. As you probably heard, we're staying in town for two nights before heading off again."</p><p>It was an offer he didn't want to refuse. "I'd like that. Where might I find you?"</p><p>"The Ogre's Head Inn in the northern quadrant of the city. Not too far from here, actually," she informed him as they stepped back from one another. "See you around, Lucifer."</p><p>River went over to wake up her party's mage with a little bump to the head with her leather gloved hand. The man scrambled to his feet in a panic, staff at the ready, but then he realized where he was and looked quite sheepish. He ran after the departing group, River already at the doors by the time he had gotten to his senses.</p><p>Lucifer watched them leave with interest. That had been somewhat entertaining. He was looking forward to learning more about this world from their perspective.</p><p>"Mister Lucifer Morningstar, sir?" a familiar female voice called out to him. It was the Guild receptionist from earlier.</p><p>"Yes?"</p><p>"I've entered you as a provisional Guild Member pending the results of your practical examination," she informed him, "Your test instructor will meet you at this location in two hours. Please prepare yourself... and don't be late!"</p><p>Lucifer accepted the small piece of paper that she offered him and read the one line scribbled onto it.</p><p>
  <em>"Lucifer Morningstar - Entrance Examination - Oldaven Grand Cemetery"</em>
</p><p>He wasted no time and left the Guild Hall almost immediately. He was informed that the cemetery was located on the southernmost end of the city in a special walled section that protruded beyond the outer main wall that protected the city. From a bird's-eye view one might liken it to the nub at the bottom of an inflated and somewhat misshapen balloon.</p><p>Why the exam was to be conducted at a graveyard, the receptionist would not say, though Lucifer could certainly guess well enough. He didn't bother asking any of the other adventurers at the Guild lest he break some unwritten rule about it. If the Guild itself was tight-lipped about the nature of the Entrance Exam, he imagined that officially registered adventurers were not allowed to openly talk about it either. Or maybe he was overthinking it.</p><p>Considering the location, there was a high probability that he was going to face some kind of low-level undead enemies. The kind that a normal person probably wouldn't stand a chance against, but that any aspiring adventurer should be able to deal with. After all, they wouldn't throw aspiring new adventurers into a fight they weren't likely to be able to handle.</p><p>For him, this Exam was merely a formality he was going to have to put up with. The hardest part of this whole ordeal was likely going to be trying to keep his power levels in check so as not to arouse much more notice than his armor was already attracting.</p><p>The more he thought on the coming exam, the more hopeful he was that there might even be a hidden dungeon full of undead deep beneath the cemetery. If that were the case that would also mean that other similar dungeons existed throughout this world. That thought excited him.</p><p>Clearing dungeons would certainly make things easier for him to practice his fighting skills in this new world while also gauging the strength of this world through the creatures and magics that he had to deal with within their dark depths.</p><p>It was definitely going to be disappointing if it turned out there wasn't a dungeon of some kind, though he tried to keep his expectations in check.</p><p>Arguably the most disappointing but still very possible scenario was that there wasn't any undead there at all, only a secure training area within the cemetery that the Guild used for the exam. Though if that was the case they probably would've picked a better location than the middle of the resting place of the city's dead.</p><p>Unless they were trying to get into the heads of any would-be adventurers, which was plausible. Cowards had no business being in the Adventurer's Guild. And anyone who couldn't cut it would probably end up with a tombstone at the cemetery.</p><p>Walking straight to the cemetery without stopping would probably take at least thirty minutes at a brisk walk, which meant the two hours they had given him were more than enough time to do a few other things before taking the test. That was probably on purpose so as to provide ample time for new recruits to prepare themselves both mentally and physically.</p><p>There were shops and markets all over the city, but most of them were concentrated in the city center, which Lucifer would have to traverse on his way to the cemetery. He was curious about the kinds of goods and services that were available and what better way to find out than to go to the biggest market in Oldaven?</p><p>He was moving along at a measured pace through the steadily busier streets when his eyes drifted to what he considered to be a monumental eyesore in the middle of the city.</p><p>At the very heart of Oldaven was a small, almost perfectly square castle with high walls that looked almost impenetrably thick. The castle itself dominated the skyline alongside the much bigger profile of the arena as both structures were well above the castle walls. The thickness of the walls meant the castle within was likely a little cramped, though the smaller space was probably thought to be well-worth the trade-off to make the walls so thick as to be extremely difficult to breach.</p><p>The keep had a single large square tower at the center that thrust high into the sky with big windows that provided a panoramic view of the city and the surrounding countryside. Surrounding the castle was a moat dug deep enough that falling into it, especially with armor on, would probably break some bones or even kill someone if they landed at an unlucky angle.</p><p>The only way in and out of the castle was through the main gate, which was elevated to about halfway up the castle wall and was secured by a drawbridge that angled downwards 35 degrees at full extension - meaning that anyone who assaulted the castle from the front who somehow managed to get the drawbridge down would face an uphill battle to get into the castle. Easy pickings for the defenders manning the walls and defending the gate.</p><p>All of this were of course only the easily seen physical defenses of the castle. Lucifer could sense several magic barriers surrounding the castle as well. All of them were pretty weak in his opinion, but at least they tried to add some magic defense.</p><p>The castle was hard to miss and the massive banners hanging from the ramparts caught his eye. There were two different banner designs alternating across the walls at even intervals. One was the now familiar Imperial Banner with the Empire's Coat of Arms while the other was likely a banner that belonged to the noble lord of the castle. A coat of arms on a shield with halberds crisscrossing behind it.</p><p>Whoever lived in the castle was most likely in charge of Oldaven. A member of the nobility no doubt. What was the name of that noble who owned the farm where he had found Kiah? He looked down and thought for a moment and then it came to him. Lord Rubeon.</p><p>Directing his gaze over to the castle one more time, Lucifer wondered if this Lord Rubeon was the one who lived in the castle. The noble better pray that Lucifer never came across him.</p><p>In front of the castle was a wide open square full of hundreds of people and dozens upon dozens of merchant stalls selling goods of every variety. Some of them even sold food, and the smell and smoke of their cooking wafted through the air. This was the supposed Grand Market of Oldaven.</p><p>Lucifer took a moment to observe the crowd and the countless stalls that they filtered around. Most of the people looked to be working class, with maybe a handful of nobility and wealthier persons walking about. The stalls themselves were of various shapes, colors, and sizes, offering all sorts of wares and services for sale to the public. After a few minutes of quiet observation, he decided to join the sea of people.</p><p>Now was a good time to browse some of the stalls, see what the merchants had to offer, and maybe ask some questions to learn about the economy here.</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>xxxxXxxxx</b>
</p><p> </p><p>Prince Jaque paced in his study, one arm across his chest and the other bent up with a hand grasping his sharp chin.</p><p>This was not how things were supposed to happen, and he was feeling torn.</p><p>On the one hand, his father was apparently going to recover and that was well and good. But on the other hand, he was no longer going to become Emperor, at least not as soon as he had planned. That was totally unexpected. He hadn't even thought that a possibility when he started putting his plans into motion.</p><p>"Damn it all!" he growled in frustration as he proceeded to rub a hand across his face. Perhaps there was time to call off the plans he had made with the nobles for now. Or should he still go through with it? It might be more trouble to take back some of the moves he had already made. He would have to modify things given the changing situation.</p><p>Resuming his pacing, he deliberated with himself on what he needed to do and how to go about doing it. If only he had someone to confer with. Unfortunately for him, he trusted nobody but himself. There were a few who knew bits and pieces of the plan that they were involved in, but only Jaque knew the big picture.</p><p>KNOCK. KNOCK. KNOCK.</p><p>The sound startled him as he turned towards the door. He wasn't expecting anyone and he had left explicit instructions with the guards not to permit entry, so it must have been someone with something very urgent to say. He secretly welcomed the intrusion since it helped to distract him for a moment, though he would pretend to be royally pissed off.</p><p>"Didn't I say I am not to be disturbed?" he called out angrily as he settled himself behind his desk. "Enter and be quick about it! I swear if this isn't important I will have your heads!"</p><p>The door opened to reveal one of the guardsmen who bowed low almost immediately upon entering, never meeting the prince's eyes. "Forgive me, your highness. Your uncle, Duke Wimburg, says he has urgent news for you. We tried to tell him that you didn't want to be disturbed, but he would not liste-"</p><p>"Uncle Hendrik is here?" the prince said quickly, cutting the guard off as his face scrunched up in confusion, no longer angry. Had he forgotten some business he had with his uncle that day? No. He would not have forgotten something like that. This was something new. Something... urgent?</p><p>"Yes, your highness. He is waiting outside."</p><p>With a loud sigh, the prince beckoned with his hand and said, "It's fine. Send him in." What did his uncle want from him? And why would he show up now of all times? Did he somehow hear about the Emperor's improving health?</p><p>The soldier exited swiftly and a few seconds later Duke Wimburg strode into the room with a smile on his chubby, mustached face.</p><p>"Ah! Well if it isn't my dear nephew, Prince Jaque Milos Farlord el Nix! You're looking a little worse for wear, your highness. Have you been skipping meals and sleep? Working yourself to the bone improving your position again? If you don't take time to relax then playing these courtly games may be the death of you far too early than it should."</p><p>Duke Hendrik Wimburg was the youngest child of five and was the cousin of the current Emperor. Two siblings were killed in battle over the last few decades and the other remaining sibling was their sister Duchess Annika Cristelle.</p><p>Much like Jaque's older brother Jersei, the Duchess Cristelle didn't really care much for work or politics and rarely ventured outside her lands, content with what she had. She only showed up to Court Council meetings when specifically asked to, otherwise she allowed her brother Duke Wimburg to hold her vote on most matters.</p><p>Duke Wimburg was without a doubt the chattiest one of the family, and though it could be grating at times, the man was no stranger to the goings on at the court and was an invaluable ally should he take a liking to you. Jaque, of course, had the advantage of being related to him and had just enough patience to endure his seemingly endless chatter, which the Duke enjoyed.</p><p>Still, sometimes such chatter proved helpful since his uncle had loose lips at times and would let slip information that was probably supposed to stay confidential with the people involved. Though some part of him thought that perhaps those mishaps were all carefully orchestrated.</p><p>"Everyone's so down and moody these days! People should lighten up a little. All because my dear older cousin is near death? Please! Death comes for us all in the end, it's nothing special whether you're an Emperor or a slave," he remarked casually as he plopped down on one of the comfortably cushioned chairs.</p><p>"Although I suppose you normally get to choose how to die when you're in a higher station in life, but I digress," continued the Duke with a spark in his eye, "Death is only the beginning of a new adventure. Death is but the next chapter after life! Wouldn't you agree?"</p><p>With an audible sigh, the prince looked at his uncle and wondered what really went on inside the man's mind these days. To anyone who didn't really know him, the Duke might sound a touch mad at times. And even those who knew him sometimes thought he was crazy at times.</p><p>"What brings you to the capital, uncle Hendrik? The guard said you had something important to discuss with me?" asked Jaque, not in the mood to entertain his uncle's ravings at the moment.</p><p>The prince was certainly curious about what this important matter could be. His uncle was an odd one but rarely did he make an appearance at the palace without some agenda, even though it might seem like something he would do given the way he spoke and acted.</p><p>The Duke's grin stretched even wider, straining his pudgy face as his eyes narrowed and turned towards the door. "Ah, yes of course. I'm here on a most important mission. Very, very important. One that will shape the future of our great Empire. Nay, not just our Empire, this mission would shape the future of the whole world! It's all rather exciting to tell you the truth, and boy let me tell you, I haven't been this excited in a long while."</p><p>Could his uncle be any more dramatic? The prince groaned inwardly. He had no choice but to bite. "And what mission would that be exactly, dear uncle?"</p><p>The Duke let out a snort that sounded like he wasn't going to tell him and then got to his feet and walked over to the door without saying anything.</p><p>Jaque stared. He was having a hard time understanding what the old noble was up to. Was his uncle about to walk out on him? Did he really just say all of that and then leave him hanging? He couldn't believe it and yet it looked like that was about to happen. His uncle might be insane after all and he was starting to get very upset.</p><p>Instead of leaving, however, the Duke simply stopped in front of the door and pulled something out of one of his pockets. Jaque couldn't quite see what it was, but after a short while of him fidgeting with it, a bright green light flashed briefly over the door. Then his uncle quickly pocketed the item he had used and turned around with mischievous eyes.</p><p>Prince Jaque slowly got to his feet, leaning against the desk with his hands, confused and bewildered. Did his uncle just cast some kind of magic on the door with whatever object he had in his pocket? For what purpose? All manner of theories popped up in his mind and most of them troubled him.</p><p>"Uncle?" he asked warily as a cold feeling swept across his body. "W-What is the meaning of this? I demand that you explain yourself at once."</p><p>He was suddenly very aware of the letter opener on his desk. It was well within arm's reach should he need to use it as a weapon. That would be an act of last resort though because Jaque was not much of a fighter. Sure, he was trained in swordsmanship when he was younger and could handle one if needed, but he had little experience in actual fighting and he hardly practiced anything other than politicking and governing these days.</p><p>After all, what was the point of having all these guards if he had to get into actual fights himself? Speaking of guards, Jaque calculated that even if he shouted for help, his uncle would likely be able to finish him off by the time they broke down the door and got through whatever enchantment the Duke placed on it, which meant he had to fight for his life if it came down to that.</p><p>Not that his uncle was any better than he in the martial arts, but the sudden knowledge that the Duke had magic items at his disposal made the prince worry. There was no telling how many magic items he had or what those things could do, and some magic items didn't need any real talent to wield them. One only needed to know how to properly activate the item without accidentally killing one's self.</p><p>Damn magic and it's supernatural abilities! If only he had been gifted with the ability to use such a power himself.</p><p>With a mischievous grin, the Duke stepped closer to Jaque. There was a strange gleam in his eye as he spoke softly, almost conspiratorially, and Jaque instinctively tensed.</p><p>"No need to worry yourself, dear nephew. I'm not here to harm you or anything like that. In fact... <em>I'm here to help you get the throne</em>!" The last part was said in a harsh whisper as he made a show of looking around as if to check for any unwanted eavesdroppers.</p><p>The man really loved being dramatic.</p><p>"Huh?" Jaque blinked for a while in stunned silence. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. Surely this had to be some strange dream and he had somehow fallen asleep in his study. He reached a pinky into his left ear and cleaned it out. He must not have heard him properly.</p><p>Sensing his confusion, the Duke returned to the seat he had been occupying only moments before, clasping his hands together excitedly as he made himself comfortable. He was clearly enjoying himself.</p><p>"Oh yes, I'm very serious. Very serious indeed, dear nephew. The throne is within your reach, all you need to do is stand up<em> and take it</em>," said the Duke with an almost fiendish grin. "Now then... let's talk about how we're going to crown you the next Emperor."</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>xxxxXxxxx</b>
</p><p> </p><p>Leinas and her small band of soldiers emerged cautiously into yet another clearing, but found only empty air and more tracks in the dirt waiting for them. They had been on the move for almost an hour now, or at least it felt like it, and they still had not come into contact with the enemy. Around them, the wood had grown denser and wilder as they had gone deeper into the heart of the forest, and the light that filtered through the branches above had weakened noticeably.</p><p>"Tracks are fresh," remarked Jethro, as he had said several times already.</p><p>They were still in pursuit, it seemed, but now Leinas was starting to wonder if perhaps they were being led into a trap. Though why their foe would go to such lengths when they could simply overrun them with their sheer numbers was a mystery to her. Even with all her skill, Leinas was unable to fight a whole army by herself - and she only had six other soldiers with her. Surely the enemy knew that.</p><p>"What do we do?" asked her lieutenant as he knelt on the ground, bow in hand.</p><p>They could return to the survivors and await reinforcements, which might take some time to get to them, or they could press on and hopefully confront the leader of the menace that plagued them and put an end to the threat they posed. But continuing on did entail possibly walking into a trap.</p><p>The fingers of her off-hand idly played with her hair as she debated what course of action to take. There was a chance that their enemy had overestimated their strength and that their attack had resulted in greater losses than expected, which was why they were now retreating to regroup. If that was the situation, then surely now would be the time to strike before their enemy could gather their strength again and cause even greater harm. Besides, she had to make the enemy answer for taking the lives of so many of her soldiers.</p><p>"We go forward," she said finally and her men accepted that without question.</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>xxxxXxxxx</b>
</p><p> </p><p>Lucifer was unimpressed by the selection of goods available for purchase at the Grand Market of Oldaven. Oh sure, there were plenty of options. The items for sale at the market numbered in the hundreds if not thousands, but of all the quantity therein there was very little quality.</p><p>While he was intrigued by the food options, he had not felt hungry enough to purchase anything, though he did make a note to possibly get something on his way back to The Rose Moon Inn. It was likely that Kiah would be hungry upon his return, and he still wasn't quite trusting of the quality of the food at the inn.</p><p>He was at least happy to note that bartering and haggling with merchants in this world was perfectly acceptable, and in some cases seemingly expected. It was always a fun little exercise when buying and selling things in-game back in YGGDRASIL to see how much haggling he could get away with, though those opportunities were few and far between for him, he still enjoyed those moments.</p><p>Most of the time he had someone else he could rely on to deal with the buying and selling, for which he would of course pay a fee. The reason he had a middleman was because finding the right buyers and sellers across the nine worlds would take too much time, time that he thought was better spent actually out grinding and hunting for loot and quests.</p><p>Leaving the market, he made his way further south towards the cemetery, and with a little less than an hour to spare before his examination, Lucifer turned onto the street where the Temple close to the cemetery was located. He stopped to gaze upon it for the first time.</p><p>The temple itself was a grand stone structure that actually resembled a mosque from Lucifer's old world, with a handful of towering minarets and a big dome of white stone. Clearly the architecture of the Empire was somehow influenced by his old world's Middle Eastern culture. Whether that influence was due to former YGGDRASIL players in the past or if the architecture style was independently created, he could not say for sure.</p><p>Though simple in its design with few exterior adornments, the temple was still an impressive work of construction and definitely pleasing enough to the eye. It was certainly nicer than the drab-looking buildings in its immediate vicinity. Lucifer walked closer.</p><p>The temple's sturdy front doors faced the street were made of a dark wood and were thrown open wide as if to invite all the world inside. Standing at attention to either side were two guards with spears and blue-tinted iron heater shields. Though they were supposed to be on guard, their expressions and body language appeared relaxed and friendly.</p><p>They wore armor that was markedly different than the City Guards Lucifer had encountered at the gate when he first entered the city, and he guessed that these were guards specifically under the command of the Temple. A religion having their own little fighting force was not out of the ordinary, but he wondered how skilled they were in comparison to one another.</p><p>Large stone steps about twenty feet wide led up from the street to a small courtyard in front of the temple entrance. In the center of the courtyard was a small round pool with a stone fountain in the shape of a massive fish that looked like it was jumping out of the pool. Water shot out of its mouth straight up into the air, falling back down into the pool as the sound of running water echoed across the stones. Tall palm trees lined the edges of the courtyard, with thick flowering bushes covering the ground directly beneath them.</p><p>There were only a few people milling about outside due to the heat, most of them staying close to the slightly cooler air and the little shade found around the fountain.</p><p>Some of the people in the courtyard appeared to be wearing religious garb in a similar style to that of Christian priests in the old world, but instead of the simple black and white color scheme, they were actually allowed to have different colors in their wardrobe. Most of them were wearing blue and white, though a handful had brown and white. A select few were even armored and armed, and Lucifer judged them to be Templars or something akin to them. Another thing to ask about.</p><p>If he remembered correctly what he had learned about the religion, the Four Great Gods each governed one of the major elements: fire, water, wind, and earth. The color of their religious attire was likely an indicator of which god they directly served, so it was highly likely that the temple before him was a temple to the God of Water, judging from the number of blue-robed clergy.</p><p>There were also blue banners hanging from some of the windows of the temple and on the stone walls that further supported his theory. On the banners was a spiral shell design with white feathered wings to either side, and at the center of the spiral shell was a teal droplet of water. All of this was ringed in a golden halo with light shafts that spread outward.</p><p>While he was standing still at the foot of the steps and taking in the view, a young man in blue robes and a blue hood thrown over his head tentatively walked over to him. He had friendly gray eyes and stray strands of dark brown hair escaped from underneath his hood, hanging over his unblemished face. He was young. Lucifer guessed he was perhaps no more than twenty years of age.</p><p>"May I help you, sir knight?" he inquired politely, smiling at Lucifer while beads of sweat were forming on his youthful face due to the heat.</p><p>The angel turned to face him. This was exactly what he was hoping for. Someone to ask questions of and maybe even show him around the temple. A brief moment passed while he thought to correct the religious man on the fact that he wasn't actually a knight, but he decided it wasn't worth the effort. Besides, perhaps it was beneficial to be thought of as a knight in this situation.</p><p>He did his customary slight bow as he introduced himself, "Hello there. My name is Lucifer Morningstar, and I'm a traveler who has come to the Empire for the first time. This is my first visit to a major city in this country and I'm hoping you might enlighten me about the Four Great Gods and the Temple that serves them since I'm not very familiar with all of this," he gestured around at the temple.</p><p>"Lucifer Morningstar...? What a strange name," said the younger man softly as if speaking to himself.</p><p>"That seems to be the common reaction to my name around here," remarked Lucifer, chuckling with amusement.</p><p>"Oh!" exclaimed the young man, mortified, his cheeks flushing red in embarrassment as he put a hand to his mouth. "D-Did I say that out loud? Please forgive me, sir!" He immediately bowed to him apologetically, causing more of his dark brown locks to spill out from underneath his hood.</p><p>"Please! There's no need for all that. I took no offense so raise your head," Lucifer said as he leaned forward quickly and motioned for the young priest to stand up straight, feeling a bit embarrassed himself to see the young man bowing to him like that out on the street. He looked around but thankfully no one seemed to have noticed their interaction.</p><p>"My sincerest apologies!" said the young priest once again when he straightened his back, then he slapped a hand to his forehead and frowned while shaking his head. "Sometimes I accidentally blurt out what I'm thinking without even realizing it..."</p><p>"All is forgiven," Lucifer assured him. It wasn't really that big of a deal to him, but he appreciated the younger man's apology nonetheless. He tried to get them back on track. "So about the Temple... based on the way you're dressed, I take it that you are in their service? Would you be able to tell me more about your religion? I am quite curious about it."</p><p>"Oh r-right! Yes, of course. I'd be happy to tell you anything you want to know about the Temple of the Four Great Gods," he replied cheerfully, his embarrassment from earlier already beginning to fade thanks to the change of subject. Bowing once again, the gray-eyed young man introduced himself this time, "My name is Julius Hawkins. I'm a Priest of the Temple of the God of Water and I'm at your service."</p><p>With his introduction out of the way, the young priest tucked some of the stray strands of his hair back underneath his hood and looked at him seriously. "Tell me, Sir Morningstar, how much do you already know about the Temple?"</p><p>"Just Lucifer is fine, Julius," he said and then shrugged as he continued, "I don't know much beyond the basics. I know that each of the Four Great Gods governs a prime element and that they actually appeared in the flesh about six hundred years ago, helping to protect humanity from extinction at the hands of monsters that once overwhelmed the world. I also know the Temple has healing and burial services for the people."</p><p>Of course, he actually knew a little more than that, but he wanted to get the full explanation from someone on the inside. Someone who had surely studied closely the teachings and doctrines of the religion. Not that he didn't trust the information he gathered from Chief Sprigg, but it was always better to get information from a primary source, and what better source was there for learning about the Temple than a priest working within said Temple?</p><p>Julius nodded. "Those are indeed the basics, Sir Lucifer. You are correct that the Four Great Gods each govern a prime element - there is the God of Fire, the God of Water, the Goddess of Earth, and the Goddess of Wind. These divine beings graced us with their most holy and divine presence over six hundred years ago at a time when humanity was on the verge of being wiped out by monsters.</p><p>In fact, there were so many monsters back then that they had pretty much overrun the whole world with only a handful of human settlements left standing, and then the Gods arrived and not only saved us from such a fate, they also helped humanity grow stronger by teaching us how to use a new branch of magic, what they called Tier Magic, which we are most familiar with today."</p><p>Lucifer's eyebrows went up. These guys were definitely YGGDRASIL players then if they were the ones who introduced Tier Magic to this world. Six hundred years ago though? That was insane! How was that even possible? The game had only been ten years old by the time the servers shut down for good. There was no way that should have ever happened, and yet it apparently did.</p><p>Unless... did these players somehow travel back in time? Or did <em>he </em>travel <em>forward</em> in time? Or maybe time simply passed differently in this world compared to the old world? There were definitely time spells in YGGDRASIL, in fact Lucifer knew a few, but none of them were powerful enough to accomplish such a feat, especially over such a prolonged period of time. His mind was going a hundred miles a minute trying to come up with valid theories, but there was no way to know for sure what the right answer was without questioning these other players.</p><p>Figuring that Julius probably didn't have an answer to the time travel question, so Lucifer chose to ask something else. "So Tier Magic was a new branch of magic? Before the Four Gods arrived and showed you Tier Magic, what kind of magic did your... I mean our people use?"</p><p>"Wild Magic," responded the priest matter-of-factly, "However, it was extremely rare, significantly more so than the ability to wield Tier Magic today. There were only a handful of humans capable of tapping into that ancient wild power, and of those that could, they struggled to control it. There was the potential for terrible disaster anytime someone tried to use Wild Magic, which is why it was called that in the first place. Thankfully, in all their divine mercy and kindness, the Gods gifted us their Tier Magic, which was far easier and safer to learn and control."</p><p>So there did exist another magic system in this world, one that Lucifer did not recognize from YGGDRASIL, though from what the priest was saying Wild Magic was unstable enough to have a high risk of being disastrous. Lucifer filed that away for further research and then asked, "I see. And how much do you know about Wild Magic, Father?"</p><p>Looking apologetic, Julius said, "Only what I've told you, but I'm sure you can go to the Imperial Magic Academy for more information. They should know more since theirs is the study of magic after all."</p><p>"Do they practice Wild Magic at the Academy?" Lucifer asked curiously.</p><p>"Unlikely, sir. Wild Magic was slowly replaced over time by Tier Magic once it became known to us, and particularly after the arrival of the Eight Greed Kings who used Tier Magic themselves. There may be some people today who have studied Wild Magic in the Empire, but to my knowledge no one has dared to openly practice it. Wild Magic is all but obsolete in humanity's eyes. From my understanding, the only ones who still know how to use it are the Dragon Lords. And perhaps even the Dragon Queen of the kingdom to the south since she is their kin, half-dragon though she may be."</p><p>Lucifer had heard of both the Eight Greed Kings and the Dragon Lords before, and once again the Eight Greed Kings sounded like they were players from YGGDRASIL as well given their proficiency in Tier Magic. And he had also heard of the Dragon Kingdom that was ruled by the Dragon Queen Draudillon Oriculus, descendant of one of the Dragon Lords. The thought of a dragon mating with a human intrigued him, and he wondered how on earth they were able to make that happen, but he supposed that was something else to learn for another day.</p><p>"These Dragon Lords that you speak of are actual dragons, yes? Large fire-breathing magical creatures with wings, claws, and all?" he asked.</p><p>Julius nodded sagely. "Yes. Though I've never seen one with my own two eyes. There are only a handful of them remaining, and the ones I know of are all part of the Argland Council State far to the northwest of the known world, and they never travel outside of their territory. Most of their kind were slaughtered by the Eight Greed Kings in their quest for world domination, but the ones that are alive today, like Platinum Dragon Lord, are extremely powerful. They were the ones who helped defeat the Eight Greed Kings, after all."</p><p>Lucifer wondered how he would fare in a fight against one of these Dragon Lords, though he hoped he wouldn't have to find out anytime soon. If only he had a monster encyclopedia or guide or something that could tell him the Dragon Lords's base stats and powers or something. He supposed that <em>would </em>make it too easy though. Still, the fact that YGGDRASIL players who had previously been in this world had defeated them meant that they couldn't be all <em>that </em>powerful, and that gave him some comfort at least.</p><p>"How big are they? The dragons."</p><p>The priest shrugged. "Truthfully, I do not know. Some say they are as big as mountains while others say they are about the size of a castle. Very few people alive today have ever seen one. Suffice it to say, they are far larger than most living creatures and it would be wise not to make yourself their enemy."</p><p>"I see," said Lucifer as he made a mental note to find out more information on these so-called Dragon Lords. "Is there anything more you can tell me about the Eight Greed Kings?"</p><p>"Well, not much else," said the priest as he began to stroke his chin, "I'm no historian and didn't really study their era much, but I do know that they treated humans well and only sought to destroy non-human races. I also know that they built many cities and made many advancements while they were in power, but as their name suggests they grew greedy and eventually began to fight among themselves, which ultimately led to the Thirteen Heroes and the Dragon Lords taking them down one by one as they remained divided even as they were hunted."</p><p>He was learning a lot from this young priest, and he was glad that he had decided to stop by here. He was running out of time to talk to him at the moment though, so he decided to press ahead with gathering more information about the Temple.</p><p>"Well, Julius, your help has been most invaluable," Lucifer said gratefully, "What else can you tell me about the Temple?"</p><p>Julius' voice was enthusiastic as he responded and it was clear that he was very much enjoying teaching Lucifer, "Well, the Temple has four equal branches, one for each of the Gods, and each branch is led by a High Priest. The High Priests reside in the capital city of Arwintar and preside over the Grand Temple of the Four Great Gods there. Above the High Priests, and elected from their number, is the Archon of Holiness. The Archon is the central leader of the whole Temple and is supported by the High Priests. Below the High Priests are the Head Priests of each major city, and then each Temple across the Empire has a main priest who is supported by their peers in their duties."</p><p>"I'm going to assume that you're not the main priest of this temple," said Lucifer with slight amusement.</p><p>A small grin touched the priest's lips and he shook his head. "I was only recently ordained as a priest, so no, I'm not the main priest here. That designation belongs to Father Carlos. He has been in charge of this temple for the last seven years now, and he has done an excellent job caring for the people and serving our God of Water. We are all blessed for his continued leadership."</p><p>"I see," Lucifer said thoughtfully, his mind still reeling from the revelation that there were players here more than 600 years ago. Could any of them still be alive? The Eight Greed Kings were dead for sure given what he had been told of their downfall, but maybe... "What more can you tell me about The Four Great Gods? What are their names? Where are they now?"</p><p>Julius let out a quick laugh, "You sound as if you'd go find and meet them yourself if I told you where they were."</p><p>"Can I?" asked Lucifer earnestly. These players seemed to be nice enough, given their apparently benevolent behavior towards the human inhabitants of this world, so he didn't think they would deign to fight him if he were to approach them. They might even be able to give him some answers about how and why he was brought to this world, and if it was possible to even go back to their old one. Not that he was inclined to pursue that path if it existed.</p><p>Julius' mouth fell open as his laughter died in his throat. "Eh? Are you serious?"</p><p>"Extremely."</p><p>"Oh." Julius shifted on his feet. "Unfortunately, that's not possible, sir. You see, they visited our world with mortal flesh, and in the end their earthly bodies perished and they returned to heaven. So unless you make your way into the heavens somehow I'm afraid you're out of luck... And please don't think of getting yourself killed just to meet them!" He added the last part really quickly, thinking that the knight might perhaps seriously consider such an act.</p><p>Lucifer frowned at him. "That <em>is </em>unfortunate to hear... And rest assured I have no plans of ending my life anytime soon."</p><p>Looking relieved for the second time since their conversation began, Julius regarded him with curiosity. "If I might ask, Sir Lucifer, where are you from? Not knowing much about our religion is one matter, but you don't seem to know much about world history either. <em>Everyone</em> the world over should know about the Four Gods, the Dragon Lords, and the Eight Greed Kings at the very least. Were you not taught the histories of our world where you're from?"</p><p>"I'm from very <em>very </em>far away. Somewhere where they do not, in fact, teach such things... and I would prefer it if we just leave it at that," replied Lucifer with a serious tone. His expression was severe as well, but hidden underneath his helm.</p><p>Julius nodded in understanding, "As you wish. Forgive me for prying, Sir Lucifer."</p><p>Lucifer waved off the apology.</p><p>"Now, regarding the names of the Four Great Gods," continued the priest, "There was Ballzrog, God of Fire; Neptuseidon, God of Water; Gaia-Belle, Goddess of Earth; and SylphLorien, Goddess of Wind. They all manifested in human form when they graced the world with their physical presence, though the elves claim that SylphLorien actually manifested as an elf. Others say that she was actually a human simply disguised as an elf all along. There has been long discussion over that matter, particularly why she would even bother pretending to be an elf, but so far the accepted version is that she was always human."</p><p>Yep. Those were definitely player-created names from YGGDRASIL. He found himself feeling a bit relieved that none of their names were vulgar, though the game was very good at filtering that nonsense out so it was extremely rare for anything offensive to get through those filters in the first place.</p><p>Still, he had definitely seen some creative ways to slip something past the censors, and it would have been both amusing and embarrassing if he had learned that one of the revered Gods of this world was someone with a name similar to 'BigDong69'. He cringed and then shuddered at the thought before banishing it.</p><p>He had a few more questions left to ask before time was up. "Do you know how and when they died?"</p><p>"Well, I know that the Gods all shed their physical forms peacefully at an old age. I learned this from the scriptures and other firsthand accounts of that era that were part of our religious education," answered the young priest as he brought the back of his hand up to wipe away some sweat on his brow that threatened to reach his eyes. "Which was approximately somewhere north of a hundred years after they arrived."</p><p>That would be about the very top end of a normal human life span, which made sense. He wondered if any of them considered trying to prolong their lives. "And SylphLorien? You said there was the possibility that she manifested as an elf?" he asked, curious if the player's potentially non-human form had an impact on her longevity.</p><p>"This is where the scriptures and written accounts are not so clear, and why the debate rages on today despite the majority claiming she was a human through and through. Even though most say that she was indeed a human, others say she was an elf or a human disguised as an elf. But whatever the case, she definitely remained in this world longer than the others," said the young priest.</p><p>"Some say SylphLorien died fighting the Eight Greed Kings who arrived some 200 years after the Four Great Gods first appeared. Others say she killed herself shortly after the other Gods returned to the heavens, unwilling to continue to remain here without her divine peers. And there's a third theory based on a handful of discovered texts that suggest she was actually murdered by fanatics shortly after the other Gods ascended because they believed she was somehow trapped and therefore by killing her they were helping her return to the heavens to be with her peers."</p><p>Lucifer raised an eyebrow at that, not that the priest could see it under his helm. "And what is the official stance of the Temple?"</p><p>"The Temple doctrine says that she died fighting against the Eight Greed Kings, who were rumored to have stolen the power of the Gods and were therefore capable of defeating them."</p><p>"Which meant that she lived far longer than the others, then," said Lucifer thoughtfully, "And what do <em>you</em> believe?"</p><p>"W-What?" Julius stared at him.</p><p>"Surely you must have an opinion, Father. You're an ordained priest of the Temple after all, and you studied their teachings. What do you believe to be the truth?"</p><p>"Well," he hesitated, looking contemplative, "I believe..."</p><p>"Julius!" a decidedly older male voice called out from the temple's main entrance, startling the young priest and making him jump slightly. "Julius! Where are you, boy?" called the man once again, louder this time.</p><p>They both turned their heads in the direction of the man who was shouting out Julius' name and causing quite a few others to glance his way.</p><p>The voice belonged to an older priest wearing the same attire as Julius, with graying and thinning hair on his head and a sour expression permanently resting on his face. He seemed the impatient sort.</p><p>"That's Father Charlie," said Julius with a hint of resignation in his voice, "He must have some work for me to do before tonight so I'm afraid I must leave you to attend to my duties, sir knight. I'm sorry I was unable to answer all your questions, but if you wish to return some time I'd be more than happy to continue teaching you more about our faith."</p><p>"As it happens, I do have somewhere else to be shortly so it's not a problem. But I <em>will </em>take you up on that offer and stop by again later, if that's alright with you." Lucifer reached out his hand, which was encased in an obsidian black adamantium gauntlet.</p><p>"Julius!" called the senior priest again with mild annoyance, his eyes finally settling on the young priest. "Get over here now! There is still much to be done!"</p><p>Julius smiled and took Lucifer's hand in a firm shake. "Sounds good, sir Lucifer. May the Four Gods watch over you."</p><p>Lucifer walked away too, his steps leading him towards the cemetery. The hour of the Guild Entrance Exam was drawing close, though his mind was distracted by the information he had just learned. Elves were known to have significantly longer lifespans than humans, with some iterations even said to be immortal. Was it possible that one of the Four Gods was still alive?</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>xxxxXxxxx</b>
</p><p> </p><p>It was most definitely a trap.</p><p>Leinas and the others were stood with their backs to each other as they watched their enemy close ranks around them. More goblins. Dozens of them, all with their crude weapons and armor, and a hungry look in each and every one of their eyes. The odds were not looking good for Leinas and her men.</p><p>While it was not wholly unsurprising that it was a trap, Leinas had been hopeful that there would be less of the enemy to deal with than this. But it seemed that the enemy commander had left more forces in reserve than she anticipated. Still, she had not yet lost hope that they would make it out of this alive. If she could challenge their commander and win, the others would surely turn tail and run. The problem was that she couldn't find anyone who looked like a commander among the ranks of the enemy.</p><p>"Where is your commander!?" she yelled defiantly at the encroaching goblins, "Where is your leader!?"</p><p>The green-skinned goblins only laughed as they slowly encroached on the trapped soldiers, as if they were actually savoring this moment.</p><p>"Where is the filthy coward who commands you?" she continued, her voice unwavering as it carried through the forest. "I am Lady Leinas Rockbruise, commander of the army that opposes you now, and I challenge that cursed coward to a duel."</p><p>Again the goblins laughed, but then there was a roar of anger in the distant trees that silenced them, halting their advance.</p><p>Leinas smirked.</p><p>The sound of heavy footfalls accompanied by the slight shaking of the ground with each step told her that she had successfully goaded the enemy commander into showing themself. It also told her that the enemy commander was large, perhaps the size of an ogre, though she doubted very much that one of their ilk was responsible for all this. No ogre she had ever met was smart enough enough to compel an army of goblins and ogres to follow them, so what could this fiend be?</p><p>From the depths of the forest came a beast that stood on two legs nearly twenty feet tall, and the goblins scattered in its presence as it stomped close to the group of humans. The beast dragged behind it a massive crude hammer made out of a weathered tree stump and large, roughly hewn rocks. It's skin was mottled green and it's eyes burned with unrestrained fury. Two large fangs jutted out from its lower jaw, and it roared in challenge, exposing the rest of its sharp, misshapen teeth as the air around them suddenly became rather foul.</p><p>"A troll," breathed Jethro from behind her.</p><p>Leinas recognized it as well, but it was unlike any troll that she had ever seen before. There was something very wrong with it. Almost unnatural. It took her longer than she cared to admit to notice what it was, for she at first thought that it was a part of its armor. But when she looked closely, she realized that it was actually something else entirely.</p><p>There was something attached to the troll, and it was wrapped around the left part of its chest all the way over its shoulder and around the neck area. It appeared to be some kind of parasite, almost like a leech, but it was a putrid dark green color and from where it was attached to the troll she could see black veins spreading out as if it were injecting poison or corruption of some kind into the beast.</p><p>Leinas thought it must be some kind of parasite, and that somehow this was the reason the troll was able to influence all these goblins and ogres. Nothing else about it could explain how it was able to command such numbers, because even trolls, while smarter than most goblins and all ogres, surely were not cunning enough to plan out such an assault as they had just mounted against her troops. Was it perhaps under some kind of mind control from this parasitic creature, which was the actual mastermind behind it all? Or was their battle plan and tactics all just sheer coincidence and dumb luck?</p><p>Shaking her head, she concentrated on the beast before her. "What <em>are</em> you?" growled Leinas as she tensed. She had never seen anything like it in all her years of slaying monsters.</p><p>"Your doom!" roared the troll.</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>xxxxXxxxx</b>
</p><p> </p><p>Lucifer arrived at the big gate that led into the cemetery, where he found a dozen guards stationed on the ground, half of them sporting the Imperial crest and the other half the sigil of the Temple. There were several more guards atop the ramparts, keeping watch out over the battlements, though they appeared to all be Imperial soldiers.</p><p>The gate itself was a simple heavy metal portcullis, which was currently drawn up into the gatehouse, leaving the entrance to the cemetery open. The wall was made of solid stone about forty feet high and maybe almost half as thick.</p><p>Lucifer raised his eyebrows at the number of guards and wondered just how dangerous this cemetery could be to warrant so many soldiers manning the walls and the gate here. He approached the gate without a word, eliciting a challenge from one of the Imperial soldiers.</p><p>"Halt! State your name and business here," demanded the soldier who stepped up to him, raising a hand out and blocking his path.</p><p>"My name is Lucifer Morningstar," he did his usual bow and could feel the soldiers nearby appraising him, "I've newly registered with the Adventurer's Guild and I'm supposed to meet someone from the Guild here for my Entrance Exam."</p><p>"Do you have documentation?"</p><p>For a brief moment, Lucifer was confused since he had not been given anything official by the guild as the soldier seemed to suggest that he should have, but then he realized that perhaps the small piece of paper from the receptionist was what the soldier was looking for. He reached behind him, causing the soldiers to tense but then relax as he pulled out the small piece of paper from the Guild and handed it to the soldier.</p><p>The Imperial glanced at it briefly before turning it over, noting the Guild seal on the back that Lucifer had actually failed to notice. It was embarrassing really that he hadn't. Lucifer made a mental note right then to always check the back of any paper he received henceforth, regardless of size or importance.</p><p>"Alright, you may pass," said the soldier as he returned the paper to him and then moved aside.</p><p>Once he was through the gate, Lucifer found himself alone in a large mostly flat field enclosed by walls that stretched further out than he anticipated. The Grand Cemetery was large enough that the far wall that marked the other end seemed quite small. Dotting the landscape between the walls were countless tombstones, crypts, and trees both dead and alive.</p><p>He noted that the trees on the outer edges, the ones closest to the walls, were the only ones still alive - or at least partially so - while the rest of them were dead and half-rotted from the looks of them. Dead as the people that were buried here.</p><p>This was turning out to be more and more like some kind of trial involving undead, though he couldn't see any undead at the moment. They probably only spawned at night. Or maybe there <em>was </em>a dungeon underneath the cemetery? The thought excited him and he had half a mind to wander around to try and find the entrance on his own, but decided it would be best if he simply waited for the examiner. If there really was a dungeon here, he could always return later to clear it.</p><p>Lucifer wasn't sure how long he stood there, but at one point he had resorted to counting the tombstones to pass the time. It was a grim game, but it kept his mind occupied. He was beginning to think that he would be the only one taking the Exam today when footsteps from behind him broke his chain of thought, and it sounded like there was more than one person approaching. Three, by his estimate.</p><p>"Hello sir, are you here for the Guild's Entrance Exam?" asked a clearly eager male voice.</p><p>Lucifer turned around to face the newcomers and was pleased to see that there were indeed three of them.</p><p>A young man with messy black hair, a wide nose, and plain brown eyes looked up at him with interest. He wore a light leather vest over a plain cotton tunic, leather elbow and knee pads, and leather boots. His hands were covered by thin leather gloves that looked like they were more for grip than protection. On his hips were several daggers of simple make that appeared to have been recently polished, judging from the way the sunlight glinted off of them.</p><p>Behind him were two other young men, one who looked about the same age as the dark-haired one and another who perhaps looked a little older.</p><p>The former was approximately the same height and had longer but similar messy dark hair to the first, only with sharper features. Strapped to his left arm was a small round shield of dense wood with a metal boss (a metal cap at the center that helped deflect blows and also made it easier to attach the grip on the interior side) in the middle, and hanging from his opposite hip was what looked like a normal woodcutter's ax.</p><p>The latter boy was taller - although still a few inches shorter than Lucifer - and had what looked to be a few years on the first two from his appearance and the way he carried himself with a little more surety. He had long dark brown hair tied into a ponytail behind his head and dark brown eyes that looked almost black. In his hands he held a spear and on his left hip was a short sword. The spear looked old but still serviceable. While Lucifer could not judge the sword for it was secured in its worn leather scabbard, he figured it was of the same quality as the spear.</p><p>Both of them wore nearly identical sets of leather armor to the first young warrior and Lucifer couldn't help but think they all bought it from the same merchant at the same time. They probably even got a package deal for it if he were to guess, though there was also the strong possibility that they did not since they were likely naive enough not to try and bargain with the merchant for such a deal.</p><p>All of them looked eager and a little nervous, though the taller one less so. To Lucifer, they looked like farmhands or street urchins who had grown up enough to wield a few basic weapons and he was most interested to see how they would fight in the upcoming Exam. Would they be coordinated and work together well? At the very least they had opted to choose somewhat different weapons so that they had different styles of attack.</p><p>"I am," he replied calmly to the boy's question, "Are you three taking the Exam as well?"</p><p>"Too?" The dark-haired young man with daggers at his hip appeared to be the leader of the little group and he looked startled. So did his friends. "S-Sorry, but I thought y-you were the examiner!" His eyes traveled up and down Lucifer's body, examining his armor and equipment, his surprise turning into confusion. "Is... Is this a test, sir?"</p><p>"I'm afraid not," said Lucifer with a hint of amusement, "I'm here to take the Exam, just like you."</p><p>"B-But... you look like you're already an experienced adventurer. That c-can't be right... why would they need to t-test you?"</p><p>"He doesn't have a plate!" exclaimed the shield-bearer, staring at Lucifer's chest and neck area.</p><p>"Are you a noble?" asked the taller one curiously.</p><p>"You're right! That <em>must </em>be it," said the leader, a look of understanding crossing his face. That was apparently the only way to explain this man's high-quality gear while not being an already seasoned adventurer.</p><p>Lucifer inclined his head. "I suppose you could say I'm noble."</p><p>"Lucky..." muttered the shield-bearer, looking at Lucifer's equipment with barely contained jealousy.</p><p>The tall one nodded in acceptance, the kind that admitted to knowing that this was how the world worked. That many things in life weren't fair, especially when it came to wealth and the luxuries and advantages it afforded those who had it.</p><p>The leader of the trio sighed then looked to steel himself as he turned to his friends with determination. "Ah... well, it doesn't matter. We can pass this test even without fancy equipment, right guys? We've been working hard to get to this point and there's no backing out now!" He pumped his fist confidently as he glanced between the other two.</p><p>They grinned, sharing his enthusiasm, and said in near-unison, "Right!"</p><p>A small smile played on Lucifer's lips, and then he noticed movement by the gate and watched as another figure entered the cemetery. This one had an adventurer's plate.</p><p>Confidently striding up to the four of them was a woman with fiery red hair clad in deep emerald green robes, gold-plate shining in the sunlight from around her neck, and the others twisted around to observe her approaching.</p><p>Her robes were long-sleeved and ran down to just past her knees, with a tantalizing slit on one side that went nearly all the way up to her waist and allowed for easier movement. She had a leather belt with several pouches and satchels and other little trinkets strapped securely onto it. Across her back was strapped a staff of gnarled wood with an overly large red crystal at the end that looked like a ruby on steroids.</p><p>Her fine leather boots scrunched the dirt path they were on as she came to a halt in front of the group, placing her arms at her hips and giving them all an appraising look with her bright blue eyes. Her gaze settled for a while on Lucifer, a lone thin eyebrow rising slightly in curiosity.</p><p>When she finally looked away from him, the woman frowned and said, "There are supposed to be six of you." The way she said it made it seem like it was their fault that the group wasn't complete and they should start explaining themselves.</p><p>The three younger would-be adventurers all stepped closer together and shared looks and shrugs, stammering apologies and saying that they had no idea who the other two could be.</p><p>Lucifer stayed silent while folding his arms on his chest, drawing the woman's eyes again.</p><p>"Well, it's not my problem if they don't make it in time, but if they show up late they had best have a good excuse," she scowled, left foot tapping impatiently. "My name is Rionach Creary (pronounced Ria-nock), but you may call me either Miss Creary or Miss Ria. As you can see, I am a Gold-ranked adventurer and I have been assigned the task of overseeing today's Guild Entrance Exam. If you are having second thoughts, you may leave now with your honor and your life intact. But if you stay, know that you will be facing <em>death</em>."</p><p>No one moved. Lucifer could practically feel the determination in the younger lads and he silently commended them for it, though there was undoubtedly an undercurrent of fear rippling within them.</p><p>"Good. Bravery and commitment are important traits to have as an adventurer," she said sternly. "Since we are still missing two, I will allow an additional ten minute wait before we begin, just in case they decide to show up. And please save your questions for later. I will allot some time to answer any. I don't want to have to repeat myself too much should the two stragglers decide to show up after the ten minutes are up."</p><p>The three friends started whispering to each other about their surprise at being tested by a Gold-rank just as the woman steadied her gaze at Lucifer once more. Apparently it was rare for someone that high in rank to be conducting the Exam, even though it was only a middling rank from Lucifer's recollection.</p><p>Lucifer didn't know whether it was unusual or not to have a Gold-ranked adventurer conducting the Exam, personally he thought he would be far more surprised if Platinum or higher were involved, but what he was interested in was how proficient the Examiner was at magic. The staff across her back was a dead giveaway that she was a magic caster, and he resolved to question her after the Exam was finished.</p><p>Or perhaps there was a way to get her to use some of her magic during the exam. The thought intrigued him.</p><p>Ria's eyes narrowed ever so slightly, as if she were trying to peer through his helmet to see the man underneath. She didn't seem to give a rat's ass about staring so blatantly at him and Lucifer wasn't sure how to feel about it. At least her gaze didn't feel hostile, just hungrily curious. His armor was the likely reason for it though, and he hoped he would get less attention and questioning looks once he actually became an adventurer.</p><p>The minutes passed by agonizingly slow.</p><p>The three boys spoke in hushed tones, their excitement and nervousness still very much present. Lucifer just wanted to be done with it already.</p><p>Before anything else was said, the sound of running footsteps could be heard coming from the gate, followed by a sing-song voice and a small set of figures approaching.</p><p>"Sorryyy we're laaaate!"</p><p>"We're so sorry! Please forgive us!" added a different, similarly high-pitched voice.</p><p>Two nearly identical young girls who looked to be in their late teens ran through the gate, doubled over and panting with their hands on their knees once they joined the group. The slightly taller one had dirty blonde hair that fell to her shoulders while the other had her similarly colored but straight hair cut shorter to a little past her ears.</p><p>Both of them had sky blue eyes and innocent-looking faces, the kind that shouldn't be found in the middle of a cemetery in the company of aspiring adventurers looking to fight monsters for a living.</p><p>"You're late," Ria glared at them and the two winded girls immediately wilted before her angry features, dropping to their knees with fearful, teary eyes.</p><p>"W-We're s-sorry, ma'am!" the slightly taller of the two managed to find her voice while the other one stayed silent.</p><p>Lucifer couldn't help but mentally facepalm. What were these girls doing trying to register as adventurers? They looked like they couldn't hurt a spider even if it fell on them let alone face down an undead creature who would likely make mincemeat of them.</p><p>Taking a deep breath, Ria shut her eyes and collected herself. Lucifer figured she was probably going through the same thought process as he. When they opened back up again, her glare was replaced by an intensely serious gaze.</p><p>"Now that you're all here, let me explain what you will be doing for the Exam."</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0009"><h2>9. Chapter 9</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"Lord Rubeon will not be pleased to hear of this," stated the armored knight, his voice sounding rather nasally for a man clad in a full set of castle-forged armor, like some common criminal that could be found in a back alley somewhere. Technically, he actually was one before all this knighthood crap, and apparently word had gotten around about it. He saw how some of the other knights around the city whispered to each other and gave him odd looks whenever he entered the room, not that he cared what those bastards thought of him.</p><p>The knight had short, spiky black hair and a matching set of dark brown eyes that seemed almost black. They peered out into the world with contempt. He was the captain of Lord Rubeon's forces in Oldaven, which meant that he was in charge of overseeing the security of his lord's holdings that encompassed a sizable portion of the land east of the city.</p><p>"What should we do, Sir Black?" asked the soldier who had just finished giving his report, standing at attention.</p><p>The soldier wasn't very smart — in the knight's personal opinion — and was boring enough to almost be forgotten. Definitely not at all someone that the knight wanted to deal with for any longer than necessary. At least he was loyal and obedient though, like a good soldier should be. He actually couldn't even remember the man's name, much to his amusement. It didn't help that the soldier had also just told the knight the bad news that they had been attacked by unknown assailants last night.</p><p>Even worse, two guards were dead and one was still in critical condition over at one of the healing wards of the nearest Temple. Apparently they had been out retrieving a runaway elf slave, who was currently unaccounted for, when they were attacked.</p><p>A few of the other men on duty that night claimed to have seen a brilliant ball of light descend from the sky over the farm, and when they later approached where it landed to investigate, they found the guards already bloody and broken on the ground.</p><p>The knight wasn't overly familiar with magic, knowing only that it was called Tier Magic because the various spells were separated by several tiers, and that it was a gift from the Four Great Gods, or Six, whichever you chose to believe, but he figured that it was most likely magic that had been used to attack the guards. He didn't care much for the gods.</p><p>They were capable fighters, from what little he could remember of them, but they were certainly ill-equipped to fight someone who could use magic, and at least one of their unknown assailants was apparently a magic caster of some skill.</p><p>Magic casters. He hated the lot of them. Mostly because he was jealous that he wasn't one. Thankfully, the ability to even wield such power was not common, and rarer still was a person blessed with strong enough magic to get to higher tiers, so it wasn't as much of a problem as he told himself it was.</p><p>Regardless, it was always better to be safe when it came to dealing with magic, so he had spent no small amount of coin to acquire a coat that was supposedly highly resistant to magic. The very black cloak that now draped over his armor.</p><p>"Obviously," the knight drawled with mild annoyance, "We need to find whoever did this and severely punish them for attacking our lord's forces and possibly stealing our lord's property. And we need to retrieve that stolen property if at all possible." Even if they were probably going to dispose of said property once retrieved, not that he mentioned that part. The knight sighed. All this trouble over some lowly elf slave. It upset him greatly, and he couldn't even imagine how upset his lord would be when he found out about it.</p><p>The soldier grinned approvingly, seemingly ignorant of the knight's disdain of him. "What are your orders, sir?"</p><p>The knight was quiet for a moment as his mind churned out a plan. They needed more information on who attacked them and where they might be hiding. To that end, he ordered the soldier to gather some men and scour the surrounding area, asking anyone if they saw anything noteworthy recently while also checking every house, barn, and any other possible hiding places.</p><p>Meanwhile, he would be hitting up his old contacts in the dark shadowy underbelly of the city, the ones that were always watching for anything interesting going on in the area. He was willing to bet that whoever attacked them had decided to hide in the city, or would at least rest there while contemplating their next move. It was a gut feeling, but his gut was usually right in his experience. Plus, he wanted to check in on the injured guard to see if he was conscious and could answer some questions about the attack that might prove useful.</p><p>It sounded like a decent enough plan, and the soldier didn't seem to object. Not that he would have even if he did, but he didn't look like he had any objections so that was something. The knight supposed that he would have to interrogate whoever it was once they finally caught up to them, which would be fun.</p><p>He hadn't tortured anyone in a while. Not that he was really interested in why they were attacking, though his master probably would want him to find out. All he wanted was a chance to indulge in his more... violent tendencies, and this served as a potentially convenient outlet. Playing knight was really getting in the way of all that fun he used to have.</p><p>"Should we alert the City Guard? Lord Wrightson's men?" asked the soldier, hesitantly.</p><p>"No," replied the knight immediately. "We'll handle this matter ourselves, and I'll personally be involved." The knight finally smiled a little, a wicked gleam in his eye.</p><p> </p><p>
  <strong>xxXxx</strong>
</p><p> </p><p>"Oldaven Cemetery is full of our buried dead, as you all already know. What you probably don't know is that all that death crammed into one place generates a lot of negative energy. And I'm talking about a lot. So much that sometimes you can even feel it on your skin, maybe even in your bones," began Mia, the redheaded mage. "In about an hour, the sun will set and night will be upon us, and it is in the dark of night that the negative energy produced by the dead in this place increases dramatically. It builds up and pools together and through some mysterious process we don't yet understand, it actually spawns low-level undead monsters."</p><p>Lucifer noted the looks of nervousness and outright fear in the eyes of his fellow examinees as they registered understanding of what was to come. He, of course, had been expecting this possibility.</p><p>"If left unchecked, these low-level undead will continue to spawn, feeding off the negative energy of this place and with enough time they can even create a horde of undead that could threaten the very safety of our beloved city. Sometimes, when there are enough low-level undead infesting an area, they can even spawn higher levels of undead, the worst of which would be a lich. This is the main reason we have this entire area walled-off and the gate guarded," continued the redhead.</p><p>Lucifer thought he heard someone gasp at that. He, of course, already knew all of this too, so it didn't come as a surprise.</p><p>Low level undead mobs sometimes randomly spawned higher level ones over time if they were left alone. At least that's how it worked in YGGDRASIL, and apparently the same principle applied here. There were actually people in YGGDRASIL – usually guilds – who staked claims to certain areas known to spawn a lot of undead. They would then purposefully allow these mobs of undead to get absurdly large and spawn higher levels of undead in order to make it a much more lucrative to fight them, lucrative both in terms of EXP and in loot. Lucifer himself had been a part of a few of those types of operations over his many years in the game.</p><p>Though from what he could remember, the worst possible spawn was certainly not a simple lich like the mage had mentioned. Not even close.</p><p>"Your task is simple enough: defeat as many undead as you can while surviving until sunrise. I'll give each of you areas of the cemetery that you must patrol, and you cannot stray from your assigned areas. I'll be watching over you with some of the guards from the top of the walls over there," she pointed to a specific section of the ramparts.</p><p>Lucifer frowned underneath his helmet. He wasn't expecting the exam to take long, especially not all night. His thoughts turned to the elf resting back in their room. Kiah might think he had left her behind if he stayed out all night for this, not to mention she was likely going to be starving in the middle of the night, if she wasn't already. He had left and fed her hours ago after all. He probably should have checked on her before coming down here, though now he had to figure out a way to get both food and a message to Kiah back at the inn.</p><p>"Any questions?" Ria finally asked, looking at them expectantly as if they should be asking some questions.</p><p>It was one of the boys who spoke up first. The tall one who had a bit more composure compared to his two friends. "What kind of... undead will we face?" He sounded nervous.</p><p>"Skeletons, at the very least," the mage said with a shrug.</p><p>Lucifer wasn't worried about the undead, naturally. This was never going to be any trouble for him. Low-level undead, which is what he certainly expected to appear here, attacking him may as well be like ants trying to level a mountain. And that mountain was actually a massive volcano that was about to erupt. Poor ants.</p><p>"W-What if... we can't h-handle the undead?" stammered another of the boys, this time the one with the daggers who seemed to be the leader of the trio.</p><p>"Then you die."</p><p>More gasps, followed by fierce whispering between the boys who had huddled up. The girls quietly looked on, pale as ghosts. Lucifer was suddenly finding this very entertaining. Was she purposefully trying to make these kids wet themselves? There was no way the Guild would actually just let people die like that for an entrance exam, particularly ones as young as these. He would be very surprised if they did.</p><p>"Any other questions?" asked Mia. The others were all very much subdued and put-off by what she'd said.</p><p>"Can we... all join together?" said one of the girls, the slightly older looking one. She nervously snuck a glance in Lucifer's direction, who didn't pay her any mind. It didn't much matter to him whether he did it alone or with a group, though it would be a bit more bothersome with a group, as long as he got his membership to the Guild. At least she was smart to recognize that having Lucifer on her team would make it easier for her.</p><p>Mia fixed her gaze upon the young girl. "Will you be working together as a party after the entrance exam, assuming you pass?"</p><p>"W-Well..."</p><p>"If you are, then sure. By all means party up now. If not, then unfortunately no, I cannot allow it. You must understand that being an Adventurer will require you to risk your life, and if you're unprepared for that both mentally and physically, then you shouldn't become an Adventurer at all. You also need to take this test with the people you will be working with in the foreseeable future, since you have to also know your strengths and weaknesses as a party, which will allow you to better decide on what jobs you'll be taking while also saving your lives out in the field since you'll know what you're all capable of."</p><p>Lucifer nodded almost imperceptibly. The mage's reasoning was sound.</p><p>"Oh, okay..." said the girl, looking disappointed and unsure as she stared at the ground in front of her.</p><p>When no one else seemed to have anything else to say, Lucifer finally spoke up.</p><p>"Miss Ria, would it be okay for me to step out for a moment? I'll be back before sundown."</p><p>Ria peered at him with her bright blue eyes, crossing her arms over her decently endowed chest. "May I ask why?"</p><p>"It's... a personal matter," he finally said after a brief moment to think.</p><p>"Well... as long as you're back before sunset, I suppose it's fine. Once the sun is below the horizon, the gate is locked for good until sunrise, and if you're not back then you'll forfeit your examination until next year. No exceptions."</p><p>"Understood. Thank you, Miss Ria," he inclined his head gratefully.</p><p>She huffed then looked around at the others. "Right. Anyone else want to leave too?"</p><p>Silence.</p><p>Ria nodded, more to herself it seemed than to the others, and pulled out a folded piece of parchment from one of the many pockets she had. Unfolding it quickly, her eyes scanned the page before she began to verify their identities by asking them to say their names.</p><p>The three boys went first. The leader with the daggers and messy black hair was named Alejandro; the shield-bearer with an ax was called Anthony; and the tall spear-wielding boy with a sword at his hip was Cristian. They all looked nervous, but seemed to take comfort in their friends being there with them.</p><p>Then the girls with their sky blue eyes introduced themselves next in quiet voices. Julia and Janna. They were sisters, not twins though because they were apparently one year apart. Julia was the taller and older of the two, and she sported some light leather armor comparable to the boys. Her weapon of choice appeared to be a simple sword. Janna, on the other hand, was apparently a magic caster because she had a plain wooden staff with her. So plain that Lucifer thought she might have picked it up at a construction site. He was intrigued to find out what magic she could wield.</p><p>Then it was Lucifer's turn, which everyone seemed most interested in. When he said his name, the other examinees and even Ria looked confused, and the angel figured it was because they thought they'd recognize his name, or more specifically his family name, thinking that he was some Imperial noble. Ria even asked him where he was from in an effort to try and pinpoint what region and therefore what noble families he might be related to, but all he would say was that he was from far away, much to the mage's visible annoyance.</p><p>Once that was settled, Ria allowed him to leave, and he walked briskly out the gates – ignoring the questioning stares from the guards – and made his way through the streets until he could duck into an empty back alley. Peering around to make sure no one was within eyesight, he concentrated on his magic and then said in a barely audible whisper, "<strong>[</strong>Gate<strong>]</strong>."</p><p>A shimmering disc of pulsating magic energy just large enough for him to step through appeared, expanding outwards from what first began as a pinprick of black and white light that hung in the air before him. Looking at it for the first time in this new world, it appeared to be the same as it was in YGGDRASIL, it just looked and felt more real now. A magical tear in the fabric of reality.</p><p>He walked into it confidently and the feeling was like stepping into a giant pool of jello thrumming with magic energy. When he reappeared on the other side of it almost instantly, he found himself in an empty narrow alley near the Grand Market, the sounds and smells of the bazaar echoing and wafting over from beyond the alley.</p><p>Glancing behind him, Lucifer noted the disc he had just walked out of remained after he used it. Focusing a little, he could feel it connected to him by magic, and when he cancelled the spell with but a thought the disc immediately collapsed inward back into the tiniest pinprick of light before disappearing entirely.</p><p>He was about to take his first step since exiting when there was a sudden commotion off to his side. Whirling around, hands at the ready to block an attack, Lucifer tensed for a second before he realized that it was just a cat that had been atop some garbage and jumped and run off because it was probably startled by his sudden appearance. He watched it scamper down the alley away from him and chuckled to himself as he relaxed.</p><p>He was kind of hoping some lowlife thug was about to jump him or something, but he chuckled and reasoned that anyone who saw him step out of a whirling disc of magic energy was unlikely to attack him even if they were planning to jump the next person they saw.</p><p>Weaving his way through the bustling crowds, Lucifer managed to acquire a few barbecue sticks and a bag full of steaming buns filled with meat and vegetables for what he thought was a decent price before returning to the alley he had arrived at and then using <strong>[</strong>Gate<strong>]</strong> again, this time appearing in the alley right behind The Rosemoon Inn. There were no cats to mark his arrival this time.</p><p>When he entered the inn, it was surprisingly empty except for Otto, who stared at him for a few seconds before greeting him with a nod and returning to whatever he was doing behind the counter. Lucifer said a brief hello as he walked past him and up the stairs. Noting that his wards were still in place and looked to be untouched, he made his way inside.</p><p>It was dark with the shutters still drawn, the light of the waning sun now hitting the other side of the inn, with only the smallest hint of it coming through the gaps in the shutters. His eyes adjusted immediately of course and he was able to see as clearly as if the sun were shining overhead and the roof didn't exist.</p><p>Lying on her side and facing the wall, the elf appeared to be awake, and she didn't stir when he entered. From the looks of things, the elf had barely moved at all from where he had left her earlier.</p><p>"Hello Kiah. I'm back, but only for a moment," he said and walked over to check the pitcher of water he had left her and was relieved to find it empty. At least she was hydrating. He refilled it promptly, filling up the cup he had conjured earlier as well.</p><p>"I... thought you might have left me," Kiah spoke softly, her voice tinged with relief. She finally turned over, her deep blue eyes dark and mysterious like the depths of the very ocean, and there was a storm of emotions raging there just behind her eyes. A far cry from the lifeless eyes she had earlier that morning.</p><p>Lucifer wondered what she could be thinking about. He sat on the edge of her bed, placing the paper bag full of food between them. "I said I was coming back, didn't I?"</p><p>She nodded and said with the barest hint of a smile tugging at her lips, "You did." Then she inhaled deeply, the smell of the food now spilling across the room, and her eyes traveled down to the bag between them.</p><p>"Hungry?" he asked, knowing full well what the answer was.</p><p>=x=x=x=x=X=x=x=x=x=</p><p>The troll was fast, faster than it had any right to be given its size. Leinas ducked and rolled as the tree trunk it was using as a club swung through the air above her. Getting to her feet she took a step forward, only to sidestep and twist her body as the beast had already maneuvered the tree trunk back around and above for an overhead strike. The tree trunk slammed into the dirt a foot away from her, right where she had been standing but a moment ago, kicking up a cloud of dirt and rocks. The ground shook and the troll roared angrily for having missed its mark.</p><p>There was a brief moment to strike as it recovered from the momentum and strength of its own attack, and she took it. Her spear surged forward with great speed and bit deep into the large hand that was wrapped around the tree trunk and the troll roared in pain before it let go of the makeshift club and swung out to backhand her, blood still pouring from the fresh wound. Leinas jumped back to avoid it a half second too late as it caught her in the side with the backs of its fingers, sending her tumbling to the ground painfully.</p><p>"My Lady!" cried Jethro with concern, and he started towards her.</p><p>"Get back!" she growled as she got to her feet quickly on her own power, grabbing her spear that had fallen to the side when she fell and ignoring the throbbing pain all along her right side. If they entered the fray now, the goblins that surrounded them would join in too, and the battle would surely be lost.</p><p>The archer hesitated, but then stepped back to where he had been watching off to the side along with the few other soldiers that had accompanied them. The goblins were still encircling and were also watching. They were excited and cheering on their leader with joyous glee.</p><p>Leinas figured she had a couple of broken ribs, judging from the sharp pain in her side with each labored breath she took, and she watched as the troll flexed its hand, the wound that she had inflicted was nowhere to be found. That was the problem when fighting trolls, they had strong regenerative capabilities, allowing them to recover even from normally fatal or debilitating wounds. Then there was the fact that their skin was also highly resistant to magic, not that it mattered much in this fight since Leinas wasn't able to use magic at all.</p><p>Trolls were far more difficult to deal with than ogres, that was for sure. She needed to end this quickly. There was no way she could keep up with its regeneration if the battle continued too long.</p><p>The troll picked up the tree trunk it had been using as a club and eyed her hungrily. An idea struck Leinas, and she cast her eyes around for the nearest tree that was big enough around for its purposes. The tree needed to be heavy enough to slow the troll and maybe even hurt it if possible. Spotting one some distance behind the troll, beyond the first ranks of goblins, she made her move.</p><p>Dashing forward, she watched the troll closely as it reacted to her approach and swung wide at her once again. This time she jumped, timing it just right, and planted her feet on the swinging club before launching herself off of it. She twisted into the air over the troll's head, which had turned up to look at her in surprise, and she stabbed at its eye with her spear. Her weapon easily pierced through its head, gouging its eye as blood flowed freely.</p><p>The troll howled in agony as she fell back to the ground and landed behind the troll, her legs straining as they absorbed the shock of her landing. She then made for the tree she had picked out, ignoring the goblins who seemed unsure of whether or not they should attack her. They didn't get much more time to decide because the troll had turned around and was going after the warrior with renewed enthusiasm, forcing the goblins to back off lest they be caught underfoot by the rampaging troll.</p><p>When Leinas reached the tree, she turned around with her back to it and readied herself. Hoping against hope that things would work out the way she envisioned, she waited as the troll charged at her, its eye already healing itself, though the blood from the wound was still fresh all over its face and its chest.</p><p>It swung again at her with such ferocity that it caused a gust of wind to erupt as it moved through the air, buffeting the goblins who were watching. Again, at the last second, Leinas dodged by throwing herself to the side and on the ground as the club smashed into the massive tree behind her. The sound of splintering wood echoed across the forest as both the tree and the club broke against each other, showering Leinas and the area immediately around her with pieces of splintered wood.</p><p>So focused was the troll on her that it barely registered the fact that its weapon was now only half its size, and it readied to strike her while she was still on the ground, believing that it had somehow hit her and forced her into such a position. It also didn't notice that the massive tree was now listing towards it dangerously as its badly damaged trunk groaned and cracked. By the time the troll realized what was happening, the tree was already almost upon it, and it roared in surprise and pain when it slammed into the creature.</p><p>Leinas didn't wait to appreciate her plan coming to fruition flawlessly. She leapt to her feet, spear at the ready, as the tree broke some of the troll's bones with sickening cracks and pinned it to the ground on its back. A few goblins were also squashed beneath the tree and the rest of them scurried even further away.</p><p>The troll wouldn't be down long, strong as it was. Now at least she could use her martial arts. She was saving them to use when she absolutely needed to because she could feel the tiredness in her bones, the exhaustion that gripped her body was only stayed by her iron will and the adrenaline flowing through her veins.</p><p>She could tell that she only had enough energy left for one concerted attack with martial arts. After that, she would be spent. And this was that moment.</p><p>"<strong>{</strong>Ability Boost<strong>}</strong>. <strong>{</strong>Flow Acceleration<strong>}</strong>," she said, feeling the mental fatigue heavily as her body was strengthened considerably. She moved forward so quickly that those watching barely had time to register the blur of her form as she was upon the troll and stabbing at it with a frenzy. The troll groaned in agony as it was gouged again and again in its head, turning into a mushy lump of flesh, blood, and bone until it was barely recognizable as a head. Crimson blood splattered everywhere and pooled across the ground beneath it.</p><p>The troll's regeneration was hard at work trying to heal its severely mangled head, but she was attacking faster than it could keep up with, and she noticed the healing attempts get slower and slower until finally it simply stopped and the troll was finally motionless. She stopped, spear gripped tightly in her blood-covered hands, the blade of it pointed at the bloody mass that was once the troll's head. In fact, there was little of her that wasn't covered in the troll's disgusting blood.</p><p>It was done. The forest was silent except for her ragged breathing as she fell to one knee, turning her spear upright and planting the butt of it into the ground to use as a support, otherwise she probably would've fallen over completely. She cast her gaze around, noting that the goblins and ogres were all eyeing her warily. They now seemed to lack the excitement and aggression they previously displayed. Jethro and the other soldiers made their way over to her, wary of the force that still surrounded them.</p><p>Without warning, a shrill cry pierced through the forest, and everyone grimaced and were brought low by its otherworldly sound. Leinas was hit the hardest, pain piercing her ears as thoroughly as the sound that caused it, and she could have sworn her ears were about to implode. All around her, goblins, ogres, and humans were writhing on the ground in pain, clutching their heads and covering their ears. It took her a few precious seconds to realize the sound was coming from right next to her, and when she turned her head her eyes widened with horror.</p><p>The parasite, or whatever it was that had been attached to the troll, had partially detached itself from its now unmoving corpse, and its edges were lined with hundreds of horrifying needle-like fangs. It rose up like a snake, thick and blubbery and atrocious, like something out of a nightmare. At its top end, a circular mouth had opened, filled with more of its teeth, and was from where the painfully shrill cry was emanating from. It didn't have any eyes, but for some reason Leinas could tell that its attention was directed at her, and it was not happy.</p><p>Mustering whatever strength she had left, as the pain of its cry was slowly overcoming her, she twisted around to face it and pointed her spear at the thing.</p><p>"<strong>{</strong>Piercing Strike!<strong>}</strong>" she yelled, the blade of her spear shining with energy. She thrust forward and the thing lunged at her at the same time, its frightening maw agape, ready to tear into her flesh. Then Leinas Rockbruise knew no more as the pain was swept away by the darkness that took her.</p><p> </p><p>
  <strong>xxXxx</strong>
</p><p> </p><p>When the sun disappeared beneath the horizon, leaving in its wake a blazing sky of red and orange, the gate to the cemetery clanked shut, locking the would-be Adventurers within the cemetery.</p><p>Lucifer had been assigned the middle and largest portion, with the boys taking the west end and the girls taking the east. The angel suspected that this was deliberate, since the graves were more concentrated in the middle and would therefore likely spawn the most undead compared to the edges. Just as well, since he wasn't sure if he could idly stand by while any of the teens got themselves killed, and leaving his area would mean certain failure during the exam.</p><p>He had been surprised when none of the teens asked him to join their respective parties. Apparently they didn't expect him to work with them after. Not that he minded, though he thought they might at least attempt to recruit him. He worked far better alone anyway because he was used to going solo, and working with others as weak as them would undoubtedly hinder him to the point of frustration. He did respect their dedication to see this through. When Ria offered them the chance to back out one last time before shutting the gates, they had all refused.</p><p>Brave and foolish. Probably useful traits to have as an Adventurer though. Well, he would see soon enough what their skills were.</p><p>The first hour passed uneventfully as the light of the sun continued to wane until finally the night fully took hold. The only lights were from the torches atop the walls and the torches they had been given to hold. The torches were enchanted with a spell that would keep the fire burning through the night, courtesy of Ria. It also made it easier to see them from afar, which was probably why Ria had given it to them in the first place. He mused that if she could see in the dark as clearly as he could, she might not have given them any torches at all.</p><p>Lucifer glanced towards the others, his keen eyesight allowing him to observe them in sharp detail even from afar. The boys were quiet, their eyes constantly jumping from one shadow to another as they remained on alert for any potential enemies. The girls, on the other hand were busy talking and didn't seem to be watching for any undead. Concentrating on his hearing, he tried to listen in to what they were saying.</p><p>"... really do this?" asked Janna, the younger and smaller of the two.</p><p>"Of course I believe we can do this, sis. And once we're done and we become Adventurers, we can make some money for mama and papa so they don't have to work so hard anymore," replied Julia as she reached out to pat her sister's head. "And we can keep some money to spend on ourselves too. You can buy all the sweets you want!"</p><p>Janna seemed unsure even in the face of her sister's confidence, and her eyes finally darted about warily. "This is too dangerous," she said. "What if we..."</p><p>"It'll be fine, sis. And it'll definitely be worth it," replied Julia, "You'll see."</p><p>The younger girl fell silent, clutching her plain wooden staff close to her nearly flat chest.</p><p>"You remember the plan, right? For when the undead appear?" asked Julia.</p><p>"Uh-huh."</p><p>"Tell me again. So I know you know. We can't... We can't afford to make any mistakes, just like what Miss Ria said this is dangerous and our lives are at risk."</p><p>Janna shifted on her feet nervously and she was unable to meet her sister's eyes so she stared at the ground. She took a deep breath and said, "When... When they come, you'll get their attention and do your best to damage them, while I ready an attack spell to finish them off. We try to take them one at a time and keep moving so we're not surrounded or overwhelmed."</p><p>"Don't forget," Julia walked closer to her sister, grabbing her by the arms and forcing her to look up into her eyes. "That if things go sideways, you run as fast as you can to the gate without looking back, okay?"</p><p>"But... what about you?"</p><p>"Don't worry about me, sis. I promise I'll be right behind you. Besides, which one of us runs faster anyway?" Julia smirked.</p><p>Janna nodded, "I guess..."</p><p>"You have to promise me," the older girl said seriously.</p><p>"O-Okay! Okay! I promise." Janna swung her head around and seemed to be looking straight at Lucifer, which caused him to take a startled half step back, but then he realized that she wasn't actually looking at him in the same way that he had been at her. She could probably only make out the light of his torch and his small silhouette in the distance, but no more than that.</p><p>"Who do you think he is, big sis?" asked Janna thoughtfully as she continued to look in Lucifer's direction.</p><p>"Who?"</p><p>"That guy who's taking the exam with us. I think he said his name was... Lucifer?"</p><p>Julia shrugged. "Beats me. Some rich noble's son no doubt. I mean, did you see his gear? Really high quality. And expensive. I bet the price of even his gauntlets alone could buy us both a set of decent equipment, or maybe even our own small house in the city."</p><p>"Yeah..." breathed the younger girl with what sounded like envious longing.</p><p>It sounded to Lucifer that they were likely poor, which is why they were forcing themselves to become Adventurers to earn some money. Were the job prospects in the city that slim that they would be resort to such a dangerous profession in order to make a living?</p><p>Strangely, he didn't feel any pity for them even though he knew he probably should have. A side effect of his no longer being human, perhaps? Not that he could help them anyway since he was technically broke, and he was not about to sell any of his equipment or items from YGGDRASIL.</p><p>"Never heard of that family name before though," added Janna.</p><p>"Me neither. That one's a mystery. Maybe he's a bastard son? Or maybe he's using a fake na-" the girl stopped talking so abruptly that Lucifer wondered if his ears somehow had failed him and he couldn't hear them anymore, but then he followed the girl's suddenly wide-eyed stare and realized that she was looking at a spot not too far away from them.</p><p>"W-What is it?" Janna asked, noticing Julia's sudden change of demeanor and turning to where her sister was staring intently.</p><p>"Something's moving over there. Do you see it?"</p><p>"No i-it's too dark."</p><p>"Well something's definitely moving... I think this is it, sis. Get behind me," said Julia in a somewhat shaky voice, moving the torch she was holding a little further out to try and cast some more light on whatever it was.</p><p>Lucifer saw it before they did. Emerging from the ground was a skeletal arm, like something straight out of a horror movie, as it flailed around in an effort to find something to grab onto.</p><p>And when the girls finally realized what it was, each one had a sharp intake of frightened breath.</p><p>Then the skeletal hand found a purchase on the dirt to grab onto it and pulled itself out of the ground until its entire body was out and on all fours. It then lurched up onto its bony feet and with the creaking and clattering of dry bones it turned its attention to the light of the torches that the girls were holding. It took one step towards them and made a noise somewhere between growling and gurgling that should have been impossible for something without vocal chords.</p><p>The younger girl was frozen in place, staring at the skeleton with frightened eyes, and she didn't hear her older sister when she called out for her to get behind her again.</p><p>With a frustrated sigh, Julia moved to stand in front of her sister instead, and this served to partially block Janna's view of the skeleton, allowing the younger girl to shake off enough of the sudden fear that had gripped her in order for her to move as she readied her staff.</p><p>Lucifer watched them with interest, noting that there were more skeletons emerging all across the cemetery now. He also noted the strange presence that seemed to be seeping into the air, and it got heavier like an unseen fog that as time passed. This was likely the negative energy buildup that Ria had told them about. Interesting.</p><p>The skeleton shuffled towards the girls, seemingly in no hurry. Julia already had her sword out, brandishing the cold steel in front of her shakily. Her stance was poor, her grip too tight on the sword, meaning she had little if any training on swordsmanship. Lucifer thought this might not end so well for them, though based on their plan that he'd overheard, it seemed that she was only going to run interference while her younger sister did the damage needed.</p><p>Behind him, Lucifer could already hear the sounds of fighting. It seemed the boys were getting to work, and from the sounds of things they might actually be doing fairly well. He would observe them shortly. He needed to see how the girls fared first, because he figured he might need to help them the most.</p><p>When the skeleton was only a few feet away arms outstretched ready to grab hold of the living, Julia stepped forward to meet it.</p><p>"Hyaaah!" she cried as she swung the sword clumsily towards the unarmed skeleton. The steel met its bones and lopped off both its arms, and the skeleton was literally unarmed much to Lucifer's amusement, but still standing. The momentum of the sword made Julia stumble as her sword buried itself in the dirt. She tugged on it but it wouldn't budge.</p><p>The skeleton opened its jaw, exposing sharpened teeth, and growled as it lunged forward to bite at the defenseless girl still struggling with her sword. Julia shut her eyes and recoiled, but stubbornly didn't let go of her sword.</p><p>"<strong>[</strong>M-Magic Arrow<strong>]</strong>!" cried Janna, her staff pointed at the skeleton.</p><p>A bolt of pure magical energy erupted from the tip of her staff and flew through the air, impacting squarely on the chest of the skeleton, causing its chest to explode into a hundred pieces of broken bones.</p><p>Julia opened her eyes, blinking as she realized how close she had come to possibly dying, and still very much shaking she turned to look at her sister and gave her a smile.</p><p>"A-Are you o-okay?" asked Janna as she rushed forward to her sister.</p><p>Julia managed to free her sword. "T-That was amazing, Janna! You... You saved me."</p><p>The young magic caster launched herself at Julia, enveloping her in a tight hug. "I-I was so scared! I th-thought you might..."</p><p>"You did great, Janna," said the older girl as she returned the hug with one arm, patting her now sobbing younger sister in the back. "But this is no time to cry, understand? There's more of them we have to deal with. Let's stick to the plan and we'll be fine, got it?"</p><p>Janna reluctantly detached herself and nodded, wiping the tears away with the back of her hand. "Y-Yes, big sis!"</p><p>Sure enough, more skeletons were approaching the duo, and Julia ran towards a spot that would allow them to take them on one at a time without being surrounded. Lucifer watched them dispatch a few more skeletons before deciding that perhaps they might make it through the night without his help after all. He could sense the skeletons growing in number around him, and he supposed he should deal with them now.</p><p>One was already perilously close to him and swiped at him with its bony hand, sharp finger bones like claws. When it impacted against his armor, the bony hand shattered and its bones broke at the forearm, leaving only the upper half of its ulna and radius still attached to the elbow. The skeleton growled, feeling no pain, as it swiped at him with its other still intact arm.</p><p>"Pathetic," he said simply as he reached out his hand and grabbed the skeleton by the face as it broke its other arm against his adamantite armor. Flailing helplessly, the skeleton had only moments left before Lucifer crushed its skull with a crunch and the rest of it fell limp to the ground, a heap of motionless bones.</p><p>Another skeleton came at him and he threw the torch up into the air, illuminating the area around him a little better. There were about eight of them. Twisting his body and punching one in the skull, which exploded in another shower of bone, his other hand grasped the hilt of Executioner and drew it as the hand he used to punch reached up to grasp the torch as it fell.</p><p>It was too bad that the skeletons were mindless beings of undeath, because they would have certainly been impressed and even intimidated by Lucifer's display of martial and athletic skill, but they didn't care and approached him all the same, making the now familiar growling noises of the skeletal dead.</p><p>Lucifer's blade was a blur of crimson and in but a scant few seconds he had cut down the remaining seven skeletons within his immediate vicinity. More of the things were approaching, slowly, and he stood his ground calmly while turning his attention to the boys on the other side of the cemetery.</p><p>They were working with surprisingly good coordination. Making sure that they were constantly moving so as not to get trapped by the skeletons while also having one engage and at least one other to flank and attack. The third would either protect the rear or engage another that might be too close for comfort, and would wait until his fellows would come from the flanks after dealing with the first opponent. A simple enough strategy, and one that worked so long as they never faced more than two at a time.</p><p>Individually, the boys might be able to best a skeleton one-on-one, but it would be very close. Together, they were no match for the dumb, slow-moving skeletons.</p><p>Both groups, the boys and the girls, were surprisingly more competent than he realized. Or perhaps these skeletons were simply weaker than he even thought. Still, even though they showed they could handle themselves, the night was long and their youthful energy was going to wear out eventually. He didn't think for one second that they had enough stamina and endurance to last through the long dark of night.</p><p>Luckily for them, they were certainly facing less skeletons than he was. A quick count of the skeletons in the area of the boys came up to six, after having dealt with a few earlier. The girls had roughly the same number. Meanwhile, Lucifer had already taken down nine, and already another dozen were closing in, with more still appearing.</p><p>After dispatching another skeleton back to join the dead, Lucifer looked towards the ramparts from where Ria was watching them. He noticed that she was using some kind of telescope and it was pointed straight at him at that very moment. Ria lowered it, eyes going wide with surprise in his direction, and he realized it was because she could see him looking at her with that thing. He quickly turned away and launched himself at the next poor skeletons to crumble before him.</p><p>Swinging his sword around was kind of fun, and it gave him a chance to practice since he had never actually swung a sword in real life before, well in his old life anyway. This was his real life now. He experimented with various swings and grips, twisting and turning, jumping and weaving, his mind thinking back to all the various media he had consumed that involved swordplay as he tried to mimic what he could remember.</p><p>Lucifer felt amateurish, and probably looked like one, and he decided right then that he would need to train and practice more to improve. He couldn't simply rely on just his magic or his skills (the warrior's equivalent to spells, of which he had a few; similar to martial arts of the new world) to get him through a fight.</p><p>In the incredibly unlikely chance that he was somehow unable to use either skills or magic, he would need to have a solid foundation of basic fighting skills to fall back on. And while so far his equipment and his power seemed to be far greater than anyone he's faced so far, there was no guarantee that there weren't any who were just as strong and well equipped, or even better.</p><p>He recalled the offer of training that the warrior lady had given him earlier at the Guild Hall. What was her name again? He thought for a moment. River. Her name was River. Yes. He would seek her out tomorrow and learn what he could. That would be a good start.</p><p>For now, he relished the thrill of his blade singing through the night, punctuated every so often by the sound of shattering and collapsing bones.</p><p> </p><p>
  <strong>xxXxx</strong>
</p><p> </p><p>Black pulled the hood of his cloak lower over his face as he walked into the crowded pub. The air was heavy with the smell of sweat, ale, and food. And a little bit of vomit. Suffice it to say it was not a pleasant smell that greeted him, though he was used to it by now.</p><p>A few of the patrons within eyed him with curiosity, but he wasn't worried that they might recognize him. Between the hood and the cloth mask across his mouth and lower jaw, they'd have to have eagle eyes and sharp memories in order to do so, and he very much doubted that were the case.</p><p>He didn't stop as he kept walking through the rowdy pub and into a dimly lit hallway in the back with several doors that led into private rooms. Walking to the one at the very end, he proceeded to knock on it in a distinct pattern: one knock, then three, and finally two more, with the last knock being the loudest. Then he waited.</p><p>He didn't wait long. He could hear the door being unlocked and then it swung open a crack, a pair of dark eyes looking him up and down and then over his shoulder to the empty hallway behind him before the figure disappeared and the door opened just enough for him to walk through.</p><p>Inside was a round table of solid wood, the quality of which was much nicer than the ones that could be found out front. Several jugs and mugs lay on top of the table full of what was likely ale and wine. One of the jugs was tipped over, pretty much empty, though what little that remained was trickling out slowly, staining the wood all the way to the edge of the table where it dripped onto the floor, leaving dark spots.</p><p>Seated around the table were three people who looked to be in varying degrees of intoxication. The first was a portly man with a thick curly mustache and a fat nose, beady eyes looking squarely at the hooded knight. Next was a bald man who had his head buried in his beefy, heavily tattooed arms on the table, apparently half asleep. Last was a slender woman with dark eyes and a red mohawk, the sides of her head shaved, and with at least a dozen piercings between her eyes, nose, and mouth.</p><p>The man who had opened the door remained standing by it after he closed and locked it upon the knight's entrance. A lone guard, but one that was certainly capable of dealing with any potential threats that might be found in the pub. He had several daggers attached to his hips and legs and appeared to be doing his best to look like he wasn't paying them any close attention.</p><p>"Black! Black is back, friends! Grab a seat, grab a seat... and a drink! Yes, you need a drink, friend," greeted the portly one as he motioned for the knight to be seated.</p><p>Black complied and took the seat next to the mustached man and across from the woman, who was peering into the bottom of her cup intensely and hadn't even glanced in his direction when he arrived.</p><p>"Just one drink, Peter. I'm working tonight," he said in his nasally voice as he pulled back his hood.</p><p>"Working? Bah! You can drink and work, surely," said Peter disapprovingly.</p><p>"Not tonight," he replied simply, pouring himself a cup of ale. Other nights, he would normally indulge, but this was rather serious and he needed to get to the bottom of this before he could relax. Lord Rubeon was returning in a few days and this needed to be taken care of before then.</p><p>"You turning into a good little knight now?" asked the woman, who had now refilled her cup with ale and took a few big gulps.</p><p>The knight scoffed. "Hardly."</p><p>"You can always join back up with me, Kenny," the woman said with a seductive smile, her gray eyes boring into him.</p><p>"My name is Kenrick, Sera, as you already know, but you should call me Black like everyone else. And I'm in a good spot, but thanks," said the knight. Kenrick Black, but everyone just called him Black.</p><p>The woman shrugged and drank from her cup again, seemingly losing interest almost as quickly as she had given it.</p><p>"So I'm guessing your visit isn't a social one," remarked Peter, who was himself drinking some wine. The man much preferred wine to ale. "What business are you on that you need to be sober to do it?"</p><p>"Serious kind," said Black as he drank a mouthful of ale, the liquid tasted bitter but in a good one. It was one of the nicer selections at the pub. Definitely better than the drivel that they normally served out front, of which he used to drink years ago before his lot in life improved.</p><p>"Oh? I'm intrigued," Peter leaned on the table and rested his chubby cheek on his pudgy hand, beady eyes watching the knight closely.</p><p>"One of our farms was attacked last night. You wouldn't happen to know anything about that, would you?" he asked cautiously, though he leveled a steely gaze at the man.</p><p>Peter laughed heartily. "You think it was one of us, eh old friend?"</p><p>"I haven't ruled it out just yet. That's why I'm here," said Black evenly.</p><p>The man grinned broadly. "We're your friends, Black! We wouldn't stab you in the back like that..." the man said as he leaned back and his pudgy hand swept across the room to their two other companions. "Why, we'd stab you in the front at least! If we wanted to get at you, that is. And we don't."</p><p>Black sighed and drank more ale. "Well, that's good to know."</p><p>"I'm curious, Kenny," the woman spoke again, this time playfully, "What would you have done if we actually were behind this attack?"</p><p>Black narrowed his eyes ever so slightly at Sera. She was perhaps the most dangerous of the very dangerous individuals seated at this table, and the most likely to do something as brazen as that attack last night just for the fun of it.</p><p>"Well, Sera," he sneered, "I would ask you why you did it and to please not do it again. Or there will be problems."</p><p>"Or there will be problems?" parroted the woman with a big smile, showing several teeth that were made of gold. A menacing gleam shone in her eyes.</p><p>There was a tense silence that lasted a few heartbeats before Peter's laugh cut through it like a knife.</p><p>"Another round of drinks, I think! Always a good time with friends. Surely you can do one more, Black? Just one more. I promise," said the portly man as he already moved to fill another cup and slid it over to the knight, who now had two cups of ale in front of him.</p><p>"Fine. But I'm leaving after that. There's more I need to do tonight," said Black as he drank heavily from the first cup and turned his eyes back to the man next to him.</p><p>Sera had already moved on to study her fingernails closely.</p><p>"Well, I can assure you, my friend, that we didn't have anything to do with any attacks on you and yours," Peter said with his ever present smile and good cheer, "But tell me about it and maybe we can find out what we can. That is why you really came here, yes?"</p><p>Sera snorted but said nothing to contradict the man's statement as she leaned back and downed the rest of her cup before filling it again.</p><p>Black nodded and told them all he knew about the attack.</p><p>Peter actually looked thoughtful, his smile fading just a little, but enough that Black had noticed. And Sera leaned forward, suddenly interested again.</p><p>"So what do you know?" asked the knight, now on his second cup of ale.</p><p>"Not much, I'm afraid," the heavy man sighed, "I can confirm that there was some strange light in the sky reported to the east of the city, right around where your properties are. My contacts across the city and my own men have told me about it, but nobody has any idea what it was for or who might have been behind such magic. I figured it was something you were doing over there so I didn't bother looking into it too much," said Peter with a shrug, taking a sip of red wine.</p><p>"You didn't bother looking into it... too much?"</p><p>"Yes, well I did inquire and like I said nobody I knew had any idea about it other than that it happened. And as you know we leave you and your people alone over there so we don't really take too much of an interest. But now that you mention it..." Peter paused for a moment, his chubby face scrunching up in thought, "You're missing a slave, right? I think I did hear about someone carrying an unconscious person into the city late last night."</p><p>Black perked up at that revelation. "Was it an elf?"</p><p>"She couldn't tell. They were covered up pretty well, but it was obvious that they were out of it from the way they were being carried. It might be your missing elf."</p><p>"And what of the one doing the carrying? Who was it? Anyone we know? Were they accompanied by anyone else?"</p><p>Peter shook his head. "No, they were not someone my spy recognized. But there are many people who come and go through Oldaven, so that's not at all surprising. And from what I remember of the report, it was only one person along with whoever they were carrying in their arms."</p><p>"Only one person... Tell me your spy followed them at least," said Black with an exasperated sigh. Though he was glad that he had a lead that he could follow up on.</p><p>Peter laughed. "Of course not! They're tasked with watching the gate, not to follow whoever goes through it. They wouldn't abandon their post like that unless ordered to."</p><p>"Great," muttered the knight darkly as he drank.</p><p>This time it was Sera who laughed, and it sounded like a dying horse. Black cringed and even Peter stiffened ever so slightly hearing it.</p><p>"Oh I might know where they are," said Sera with a triumphant smirk. "I'm always curious about interesting people. And a stranger carrying someone unconscious into the city in the dead of night is definitely very interesting indeed."</p><p> </p><p>
  <strong>xxXxx</strong>
</p><p> </p><p>Lucifer had already taken out at least fifty skeletons. He had lost count after twenty, mostly out of disinterest, but fifty seemed about right. The skeletons were laughably weak, so much so that he actually thought it would be just as effective for them to break themselves against his armor as it was to actually cut them down. It was sad, really, though it was to be expected from the lowest level of undead.</p><p>He had taken to dodging their attacks to work on his evasion skills, and for the moment he was totally dodging the wild swings from three of them at once with ease. They were slow and fairly clumsy things, and it was practically no effort at all for him to move out of the way of their lame attacks.</p><p>Every so often he would glance in the direction of the other groups to check on them while he evaded. As expected, they were beginning to tire from their efforts, their movements getting slower and more sluggish. Thankfully, the skeletons were spawning slower after the initial wave, giving them some time to catch their breath before they needed to fight again.</p><p>This continued until there was actually a lull in the fighting and there appeared to be no skeletons left to be found. Well, none to be found after Lucifer dispensed of the three who were fruitlessly trying to hit him.</p><p>Lucifer was curious as to the sudden ceasing of the spawning, but the other two groups were simply relieved to get some rest and seemed to think nothing of the sudden peace. The angel wondered if Ria had anything to do with it, but then he struck that thought from his mind. If she did, he surely would've felt her magic at work. No, this was probably something that occurred naturally when cleansing the undead in places like this.</p><p>With its many similarities to YGGDRASIL, it was not unsurprising if there were rules about the monster spawns here in the new world too. There were usually cooldowns for the spawns in the game once an area has been cleared, and this was likely the case here. The question though, was how long was their respite going to be?</p><p>Lucifer walked along the dirt paths within his area of the cemetery, looking every which way for anything interesting. He still held out the faintest hope that perhaps there was some secret entrance into a dungeon underneath this place of the dead.</p><p>The others, he noted, were sitting down and resting their weary bodies. Mia continued to watch over them, and he had noticed that she seemed to be looking at him the most. Not surprising given the level of skill and strength he was showing. Maybe he could convince her to talk the Guild into bending some rules and assigning him a higher rank, unlikely as that was.</p><p>After what seemed like an hour had passed, and the crescent moon was high in the nearly cloudless starry sky, a faint mist began to spread across the cemetery, adding to the eeriness of the place. Lucifer was growing incredibly bored. Nothing stirred and even Ria appeared to have stopped watching for he noted that she was now chatting with one of the guards on the wall, her telescope no longer in view.</p><p>Looking up and admiring the beauty of the night sky above him, a thought crossed his mind and his lips twitched into a grin. Perhaps he could make things a little more interesting. He had yet to try any of his summoning spells, and although most of them were spells to summon divine beings, he did have a few that would summon non-divine creatures. And one, in particular, would be quite suitable for the environment.</p><p>Making sure that no one, not even Ria, was paying him any close attention, he pointed his hand with palm facing out towards a spot a few feet ahead of him.</p><p>"<strong>[</strong>Summon Low-Tier Undead: Skeleton Warriors<strong>]</strong>."</p><p>A group of six skeleton warriors appeared out of nowhere in the spot that he had been pointing at, armed with swords and shields and adorned with basic steel armor. They growled similarly to their lower level cousins that spawned here naturally, but stayed where they were awaiting his command. He smiled as he drew out Executioner once more. At least this might be a little more of a challenge.</p><p>"Attack me!" he ordered enthusiastically.</p><p>They did not hesitate to comply.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Lucifer is able to use one summon undead skill (low tier summons) and cannot do anything higher than that due to racial class restrictions as well as the fact that any undead summoned by him would be far weaker than normal so there was no point other than his own curiosity to even have and use it. Now you may be wondering... what of his divine summons? Ah... well, keep reading to find out.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0010"><h2>10. Chapter 10</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Quick note for terms:<br/>[Spells/Magic Abilities]<br/>{Martial Arts/Fighting Skills}<br/>«Item Name»</p><p>Oldaven is pronounced 'All-Dah-Ven'</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Lucifer enthusiastically let the skeleton warriors attack him while remaining purely on the defensive, observing that their fighting skills were indeed significantly better than the regular run-of-the-mill skeletons from earlier. Unsurprising considering these summons were undead of a higher level and were actually equipped with weapons and armor. While the skeletons seemed more like simple drunken brawlers stumbling about in a street fight swiping wildly with their hands, the skeleton warriors were, as their name suggested, actual trained martial combatants.</p><p>The reason he remained solely on the defensive was because he wanted to closely study their fighting ability, movements, and general combat awareness to form a baseline for further experimentation later on with his summons. He needed to know what they were capable of in this new world, where things were similar to YGGDRASIL and yet not quite the same sometimes, and what better way to start than with the weakest of his summons.</p><p>Additionally, he wanted to further test his reflexes and practice the defensive aspects of swordsmanship against more challenging opponents than the regular unarmed skeletons he had been facing earlier. It was purely a bonus that he was finding that this was the most fun he'd had all night so far. Yet even though these opponents were tougher than earlier, Lucifer blocked with his crimson sword or evaded their strikes with such ease that anyone watching might think he was long experienced at the art of fighting, not someone who had only just picked it up recently.</p><p>Sure, the skeleton warriors were faster than their regular skeleton brethren, but they were still much <em>much</em> too slow relative to himself, and certainly nowhere near as strong. He felt like he was only using a mere fraction of his strength to block or deflect their swords. They were disciplined, in a way. Never trying to do anything bold or reckless, staying on both feet and weaving clean lines with their swords while using their shields to defend themselves where appropriate and then counter-attacking.</p><p>Their attacks were relatively simple and easy to predict, so much so that he actually deliberately allowed them past his guard a few times to strike at his armor in order to test the strength of their weapons against his protective gear. Despite their steel blades not shattering when they struck the adamantium, neither did they leave even a single scratch on it.</p><p>Lucifer did notice that the edges of their swords seemed to chip and dent wherever they struck his armor, a testament to his armors superior strength. That was to be expected of course, considering that regular steel was a far inferior metal compared to adamantium, and that didn't even take into account the protective enchantments placed upon his armor. They might as well have been trying to slice him up with feathers, and he found the mental image of such a scene amusing.</p><p>When he had gathered all the information that he could for the moment – he would have to run more thorough tests later when he was alone – he shoved off the latest attack and leapt backwards a good distance, settling into a fighting stance. He stole a glance in the direction of Ria on the walls, where she appeared to have noticed he was engaged with the undead again and was now watching him once more with her telescope. He smiled, even though she couldn't see it.</p><p>"It's showtime," he whispered.</p><p>With their shields and armor, the skeleton warriors were a bit wider and bulkier compared to the regular naked skeletons, which meant it was difficult for them to attack him side-by-side without outright flanking him because they got in each others way. And since they weren't smart enough to actually try and flank him without being explicitly ordered to do so, or so he surmised, they charged him head on and he was able to fight them mostly one-by-one.</p><p>Smiling eagerly beneath his helm, Lucifer went to work. He calmly leaned and sidestepped to the left as the first skeleton warrior to reach him raised its sword high and slashed diagonally downward, its steel slicing through the misty air just inches from the angel. Lucifer brought Executioner up from where it had been loosely held by his hip and drove the point home through the now exposed chest of the skeleton. The crimson blade easily tore through the steel plate of its chest armor like it was nothing more than paper and pierced all the way through the back, breaking several bones and severing its spine such that the bottom half of it fell away.</p><p>With the top half of the skeleton skewered on his sword thanks to the armor being stuck onto it, he hefted it with ease and threw the remains at the next two skeletons, making them stumble as they raised their shields to block and halting the advance of the other three behind them. The first skeleton's upper half shattered into pieces against their shields, its steel equipment falling to the dirt with several thuds.</p><p>Lucifer surged forward without delay, slashing at the next two with their shields up in quick succession.</p><p>Their shields were sliced into useless pieces of metal that fell to the ground along with their shield arms, not that they cared as they swung their swords to strike at him as if nothing bad had happened to them. Lucifer blocked the closest strike with Executioner and closed the gap quickly with that skeleton warrior, the second attack from the other swinging harmlessly behind him where he had been standing a half second earlier.</p><p>Using his momentum he barreled into the first skeleton and sent it flying, breaking itself against a tombstone that it landed on nearby. Next, Lucifer fluidly ducked and spun as the other skeleton swung a backhand strike after it missed its first forehand, and the steel flashed over his head harmlessly. Still spinning, he buried his crimson sword in one motion straight up the skeleton's rib cage and impaled its skull. The summoned undead creature ceased to move, crumbling into a pile of bones before him.</p><p>The remaining three were not deterred in the slightest by the quick demise of their comrades as they flung themselves at him. He blocked the first attack with Executioner and then instinctively kicked with his leg high into the skeleton's torso, breaking the undead into two as his adamantium-encased foot crushed through its bone like it was nothing. As it fell to the ground, he crushed its skull underneath his heavy boot without even so much as a glance while he turned his attention to the next foe.</p><p>The next skeleton warrior tried to stab straight at him and he turned to his side just as the metal scraped by his chest plate. Had he been slower and wearing weaker armor, the blow might have hit its mark and done some damage. He swung upwards with Executioner and cut the skeleton from tailbone to the top of its skull as easily as if he were slicing through melted butter.</p><p>The final skeleton warrior held up its shield as it charged him, sword poised to strike while it growled that strange undead noise that they all seemed to make. This time Lucifer decided to use a sword skill, his crimson blade glowing with power.</p><p>"{Fatal Slash}," he said with the finality of a judge handing out a verdict, appearing in the blink of an eye behind the skeleton warrior followed by a momentary red trail of light that appeared connected to his sword. The skeleton's head, cleanly severed at the base of the neck, went flying into the gathered audience of gravestones. And then it was over.</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>xxXxx</b>
</p><p> </p><p>"Just who <em>is</em> this guy?" whispered Rionach Creary, Gold-ranked mage and veteran adventurer. She was holding her telescope up to her right eye, as she had been practically all night, and had just observed the warrior easily take down six skeleton warriors in what had to be less than a minute. A truly impressive feat, one that she couldn't actually believe she had just witnessed. It would have taken her entire party of six Gold-ranked adventurers working together to get a similar result, and they might not have even been able to do it in under a minute.</p><p>She had purposefully placed the armored warrior named Lucifer in the middle of the Grand Cemetery where it would be the most dangerous because, knowing the strength of the skeletons that normally spawned here, none of them would've been able to so much as scratch his adamantium armor, so it wasn't as if his life would be in any real danger. She figured that at worst he would be tired and scared and maybe have some bruises, and at best he would be able to hold his own until dawn. Well the warrior had proved to be more than capable of handling the skeletons, and <em>then some</em>.</p><p>"What's happening, Miss Ria?" asked the woman standing next to her wearing the armor of the Oldaven City Guard. The young woman tried to peer into the dark mist of the cemetery, though all she could really see were the small pinpricks of light from the torches of the examinees as if floating along in the dark silver mist.</p><p>Sergeant Tara Shemp was born and raised in the city of Oldaven and joined the City Guard as soon as she was old enough. Now she was in charge of the security of the South Gate. It wasn't the most prestigious posting, since the South Gate only connected the cemetery to the city, which was otherwise sealed off to the world by its own ring of high walls, but she was proud of it nonetheless because she defended the city against the never-ending undead that spawned from it. She at least felt like she was making a difference in the world, and that she was really keeping the city and its inhabitants safe.</p><p>Ria had known Tara for a whole year now, since the mage began to volunteer to conduct the exams for entry into the Guild, and whenever there was an examination the sergeant would accompany the mage up on the walls for the entirety of the night. They were always held here in the Grand Cemetery of Oldaven, and Tara and her men welcomed the break from their regularly scheduled duties.</p><p>Ria and the sergeant had been talking only a few moments earlier about the aspiring adventurers that were undertaking this latest exam. In particular their conversation heavily revolved around the man in the full set of adamantium armor. The other two groups were not much to make note of, young and inexperienced that they were, though Ria thought they had a surprisingly good chance of making it through the exam since they had made it this far.</p><p>Perhaps the most surprising of the two groups had been the two girls, Julia and Janna. She thought for sure that they were going to come running for the gate at some point, pleading to be let out. Yet they proved to be tougher than they looked, and Ria found herself rooting for them to make it through.</p><p>"It's that warrior we were discussing earlier," said Ria, slowly putting down her telescope to look at the sergeant, "He just took down six skeleton warriors in less than a minute."</p><p>The sergeant was taken aback. "Excuse me, but did you say skeleton <em>warriors</em>?!" she exclaimed with growing alarm, eliciting looks of surprise and curiosity from a few of the other guards on the ramparts.</p><p>Ria nodded solemnly. "Yep. He took them down by himself like they were nothing."</p><p>"Ria," started Tara in a disbelieving and almost lecturing tone, "There haven't been <em>any</em> skeleton warriors sightings in the cemetery in a very long time. So long in fact, that according to the daily logs we've kept for decades that I've looked over since I've taken this post, the last time was maybe twenty years ago, if I'm remembering correctly. And there was only one that spawned then, yet you're telling me you saw <em>six</em> of them? Tonight?!"</p><p>"That's what I saw," Ria replied seriously.</p><p>"Impossible..." whispered Tara, searching the mage's face for any signs she may be pulling her leg. If she was, it was not a funny joke.</p><p>"Are you calling me a liar?" the mage arched an eyebrow at her, a spark of fire in her eyes.</p><p>Hastily shaking her head, the sergeant said, "No! Of course not, Ria. I'm just... at a loss as to how this could have happened. As you know, the reason we go in every day to take out the undead skeletons is to prevent any higher level ones from ever spawning, and to think that six of them appeared in one night after none for at least the last twenty years... it is just... it's hard to believe."</p><p>Ria rubbed her arms, tired as they were from holding up the telescope for hours now, and sighed. "I understand your reasoning perfectly, Tara. I would find it hard to believe myself if I hadn't seen them with my own eyes. I don't know how it happened or why they chose tonight of all nights to appear, but I'm glad that they spawned where our mystery warrior was patrolling. If any of the other groups had encountered them, they would have been massacred before we could even think to intervene."</p><p>"Right," the sergeant said with a deep frown. "I hope nothing worse spawns out there. With skeleton warriors appearing randomly I feel like any other higher level ones might now show up too. Maybe I should call up the reserves to man the walls just in case." The sergeant felt really uneasy all of a sudden.</p><p>"You worry too much," commented the mage, "But I suppose it's better to be safe than sorry when it comes to the undead." Ria leaned against the stone battlements and folded her arms. True, the sudden appearance of strong undead was troubling, but she was less concerned as the sergeant due to having seen the skills of the warrior in the cemetery for herself, and she also was fairly confident in her own abilities. Between the two of them they could surely handle any more undead of the same caliber as the skeleton warriors, but she didn't voice that thought out loud for fear of disrespecting the guards.</p><p>The sergeant issued her orders to call up the reserves for the rest of the night to the nearest guard, who quickly left to spread the word, and then she remembered what the mage had said about the warrior. "You said he took them down in less than a minute by himself?"</p><p>"More like less than forty seconds I think, but I wasn't really timing it exactly or anything. He struck each of them down pretty much in a single blow, probably using martial arts, although the martial art he used at the end was actually kind of overkill based on what I saw. Almost like he was... showing off." Ria looked thoughtfully out into the cemetery. For her to see perhaps? He was well aware that she was watching after all.</p><p>"That's... incredible," said Tara, her voice tinged with obvious awe, shifting her halberd from one hand to the other as she tried to picture the scene in her head.</p><p>"It really is incredible. From that display alone I think he should be at least on par with a Platinum rank. Maybe even Mithril. Suffice it to say, he won't stay a Copper plate for long once he's in the Guild."</p><p>"And he's only <em>now</em> joining the Guild? Where has he been hiding all this time?" Tara asked the question that Ria had been thinking.</p><p>Ria laughed a little and shifted her gaze to the sergeant. "Yeah. Kind of crazy, isn't it? With someone of his talent level you would think we would've heard about him already, or you'd think he would've joined the Guild ages ago, but something tells me there's a long and complicated story behind all that."</p><p>Tara gave a curt nod of agreement. "You're probably right about that."</p><p>"I'm always right, you should know that by now," said Ria with a smirk aimed at the sergeant.</p><p>"No comment," Tara said, and this time it was she who laughed, the worry caused by the appearance of skeleton warriors apparently forgotten, at least momentarily.</p><p>"I'll take that as you totally agreeing with my statement."</p><p>They were quiet for a spell, each one lost in their thoughts.</p><p>"It seems wrong for him to only be a Copper plate after tonight," Tara broke the silence as she glanced at the Gold plate that hung proudly from Ria's neck.</p><p>The mage shrugged, fingers reaching up to rub the plate she had worked hard to earn over the last year. "Rules are rules. I'll be sure to make note of his actual skill level on my report though. The higher ups will probably keep an eye on him and see if he might qualify to be fast-tracked for promotion, but the true test of an adventurer is the manner in which they complete the jobs they sign up for."</p><p>Tara shook her head. "Still seems wrong," she sniffed, then looked back out into the darkness of the mist-covered graveyard. "What did you say his name was again?"</p><p>"Lucifer Morningstar."</p><p>"Lucifer... I'll be sure to remember that name then."</p><p>Ria laughed. "Yeah, I'm pretty sure we'll all be hearing a lot more of that name in the near future."</p><p>"Can you introduce me?" Tara grinned.</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>xxXxx</b>
</p><p> </p><p>The Healing Ward of the Temple of Earth, which stood tall with its several minarets near the East Gate of Oldaven, was divided into two distinct sections. One section was comprised of two great halls separated by a wide hallway and the other consisted of a large room at the far end of that same hallway.</p><p>Each great hall was filled with beds of cheap mattresses, around which were cloth curtains held up by simple wooden poles. There were at least a hundred of them tightly packed within each hall, and many of the beds were currently occupied. Coughing, sneezing, and the occasional whimpering and pained groan echoed across the torch-lit stones. This section was dedicated to those who couldn't afford magical healing and instead were given mundane medicinal treatments made out of herbs and potions.</p><p>It was of course cheaper than magical healing, but significantly slower and not guaranteed to fully heal everything.</p><p>The other section was dedicated to magical healing, and the large room that comprised it had only a few dozen beds, mostly because people didn't stay long since magic was able to heal wounds and ailments very quickly. These beds were much nicer, with thicker mattresses and fluffier pillows. Even the linens were softer and more pleasing to the skin, evidence that people truly got what they paid for.</p><p>There were two ways that people could pay the priests for their healing services: either with actual coin or by offering labor commensurate with the price of the treatment. More than half the people who went to the Temple for healing paid with labor. The guard that survived the attack the previous night was not important enough to spend magical healing on, so he was appointed a bed in one of the great halls and treated there with non-magical means.</p><p>At least the healing, however slow it was, would be paid for by Lord Rubeon's treasury. The man was injured while performing his duties after all, and the lord took care of his own. If he didn't, it was likely few would so willingly risk life and limb in his service.</p><p>Black followed the priest dressed in brown raiment down the rows of beds, wondering what kinds of injuries and illnesses were being treated here and hoping that none were contagious. He suddenly found himself breathing as shallowly and less frequently as he could get away with, which left him rather short of breath as he walked. When they finally came to a stop in front of one of the beds, the curtain fully drawn to hide the patient within, the priest turned to him.</p><p>"This is your man," said the priest simply and he pulled back the curtain.</p><p>The man lying in the bed within was almost entirely wrapped in bandages from head to toe and had several professionally set splints along his appendages, indicating that he was dealing with broken bones in various places. The bandages looked fairly clean, but not entirely as there were a few areas where there were still blood and pus stains.</p><p>What little of his skin was exposed was swollen black and blue from extensive bruising. If someone had told Black that this man had been thrown off the side of a mountain, he would have believed it. He shuddered to think the kind of pain the man had been in when this happened, and when he was first being treated by the priests, and felt the slightest pang of pity for him. He would be sure to exact a proper revenge on those who did this to one of his men.</p><p>"How is he?" asked the knight, glancing briefly at the priest before returning his gaze to the injured man. "Can he be woken up to speak?"</p><p>The priest frowned while his eyes watched him distastefully. "He is still in pretty bad shape, sir knight, as you can very well see. We spent hours last night and earlier today tending to him. His injuries are extensive and will take a significant amount of time to mend with only mundane treatments, though a full recovery is possible... at least physically. I would strongly advise against waking him," said the holy man, who then let out a heavy sigh, "But... if you think it absolutely necessary, yes it should be possible to wake him, but I must warn you that the pain might still be too great for him to bear for too long before passing out again so your time will be short, and even then he might not even be coherent, if he can speak at all."</p><p>Black glanced between the priest and the injured guard. He needed to know more about what he was up against. Now that he knew where to find the perpetrator, he needed more information before he made his move. And he needed to know immediately. He didn't have much time to plan and act before the return of Lord Rubeon from his business in the capital.</p><p>"Did he say anything about what happened to him while you were treating him? Anything at all?"</p><p>Shaking his head, the priest said, "No, sir knight. He was out cold practically the entire day and has said nothing of note, at least nothing that any of us here have heard."</p><p>That was disappointing. "I need to know what happened to him. How long before you'd <em>recommend</em> he can be woken up to speak with?"</p><p>The priest clasped his hands together in front of his belly, thumbs pressed together. "I would say maybe three days."</p><p>"That's too long," said the knight flatly and the priest's face hardened. He had a strong suspicion that the attackers might leave by then and possibly go somewhere beyond his reach. He needed to go after the attackers now while they were still in Oldaven.</p><p>Black leaned closer to the older man. "Listen, <em>priest</em>, every minute we wait the greater the chance that whoever did this gets away. I need to know what he saw, what he knows, if we are to catch the ones responsible while there's still a chance to do so. Surely that is worth the pain he will feel in the short term?"</p><p>The priest lowered his gaze, conflicted. "Gods forgive me," he finally muttered darkly as he moved closer to the injured guard and gently tried to coax him awake.</p><p>Finally, after some time, the man groaned as he was brought back into consciousness, and the priest got to his feet and took a few steps back.</p><p>"Thank you," said the knight, moving to where the priest had been hovering over the guard.</p><p>The priest simply shook his head and left them, mentioning something about dealing with other patients.</p><p>Groaning again and clearly in pain, the man moved ever so slightly and hissed from the pain of even that slightest of movements.</p><p>"Be still, man," said Black in what he thought was his best attempt at a strong, reassuring voice, "You're at a Healing Ward. Your injuries are serious, but you'll recover."</p><p>With one unfocused eye not covered by bandages, the man tried to look towards the knight hovering over him. "Woo... Woo ar...?"</p><p>"I'm Sir Kenrick Black, Captain of Lord Rubeon's forces here in Oldaven. <em>Your</em> captain," the knight introduced himself. "Do you remember me?"</p><p>"Cap...?" A flicker of recognition seemed to cross the man's eye.</p><p>"Yes, that's right. Listen, this is important. I need to know what happened to you. What can you tell me about who attacked you? How did they do it? Try and think and do your best to speak, and tell me anything at all. What you say may very well lead to the capture of the ones responsible for doing this to you."</p><p>The guard's eye suddenly went wide and a look of fear overcame the pained expression that he was showing.</p><p>"N-No..." he croaked, shaking his head and wincing from the pain of it.</p><p>"No?" asked the knight, confused. "What do you mean no?" He could also feel anger growing within him. This fool was going to deny him the answers he sought?</p><p>"Tuh... Tooo... stru... strrrnngg..." the man kept repeating that.</p><p>Black was finding it difficult to decipher his words. "Too... strong?" he finally said after a while. The coward. Black's anger burned brighter.</p><p>The man's eye blinked. "Ay... Ayyynn... Ayyn... gelll..." he struggled to speak and it was obvious that it was really painful for him to do so, though Black had little pity for him now due to the anger and annoyance he was feeling.</p><p>"Angel?" Black didn't know what to make of that. Was the man seeing visions of angels perhaps? Was the pain causing him to hallucinate? This was starting to seem frustratingly pointless.</p><p>"Ayynn...gellll... offf... deathhh," the injured man forced his words through the pain. His uncovered eye looked panicked and almost... pleading? Black wasn't sure.</p><p>"<em>Angel of death</em>? What do you mean by that?" hissed the knight, not understanding at all, but the man had already passed out again.</p><p>Black shook his head, a deep frown settling on his face as he rubbed a hand over it. The man must have been hallucinating or having nightmares. This was a giant waste of time. Taking a few deep breaths to calm himself, he stepped away and drew the curtain closed. He'd have to rely on whatever information a short span of surveillance and investigation his men might bring before he'd be forced to make a move if he wanted to get this all squared away prior to the arrival of his lord.</p><p>The pressure was on, and despite his anger he realized he hadn't felt this excited in a while.</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>xxxxXxxxx</b>
</p><p> </p><p>Father Brio stepped out from where he had been hiding on the other side of the curtained-off bed, his brown vestments gathered tightly around him. He had been listening in on the conversation that the unsavory knight had with the injured man. A worried expression etched itself onto his lined face as he watched the knight in the black cloak walk away, muttering something unpleasant to himself.</p><p>Turning his attention to the injured man, the priest drew back the curtain, stepped in, and then closed it back up behind him. Standing next to the bed, the priest raised his hands in front of him, holding them steady over the injured man.</p><p>Closing his eyes, he spoke two words very softly, "<strong>[</strong>Light Healing<strong>]</strong>."</p><p>A golden-white glow emanated from his hands and washed over the man, who suddenly relaxed even in his unconscious state. With the extent of the man's injuries, the spell healed only a fraction of it, but it should have been enough that the pain should be alleviated somewhat. Again, the man was awakened by the gentle shaking of his shoulder and whispered words by a priest, but this time he woke up with less groaning and less pain.</p><p>When the man's uncovered eye finally fluttered open once more that night, the priest sat down on the edge of the bed and fixed him with a hard stare.</p><p>"You must tell me everything you know about this angel of death."</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>xxXxx</b>
</p><p> </p><p>Lucifer sat cross-legged in the middle of one of the many dirt paths that ran through this land of the dead, arms folded in front of his chest. Anyone looking at him might think he was sleeping or meditating, and in a way he supposed they weren't too far off the mark with that observation. Around him, the light mist from earlier was beginning to thicken into a heavy fog. Not that it mattered to his golden eyes.</p><p>As an angel, he had the passive ability <strong>[</strong>True Sight<strong>]</strong> that allowed him to see through pretty much any inclement weather, even through smoke, darkness, and invisibility. Unfortunately, it did <em>not </em>give him the ability to see through solid objects, so there was no looking through walls or something anytime soon.</p><p>Skeletons continued to spawn every now and again across the graves, but they were few and far between compared to earlier, as if the negative energy buildup had slowed, giving him plenty of time to himself.</p><p>Barring some yet unforeseen disaster that would cause him to fail, there was now no reason he would not become a full-fledged member of the Adventurer's Guild. He wasn't sure what the procedure was for newly inducted members of the Guild, but he hoped that it wouldn't take long for him to get his first plate.</p><p>He wanted to sign up for his first job as soon as he possibly could so that he could get out there and make some money. Maybe even get a promotion if possible while he was at it. That would be nice. But acquiring more money was a priority right now, as important as gathering more information.</p><p>Most people who met him these days seemed to believe he was some kind of noble from a wealthy aristocratic family, and he decided it would be beneficial to embrace that alternate identity and take advantage of it. As a noble, he would undoubtedly be treated better and more respectfully by most people, and he might even be able to gain access to certain people, places, and events that he might otherwise not have if he wasn't some kind of nobility.</p><p>However, if he wanted this to work out well for him, he needed to actually <em>be</em> as wealthy as he pretended. At the moment, he was pretty much broke in terms of New World currency, and while he could look and act the part of a wealthy noble, if it ever came time for him to "splash the cash" so to speak, he would be outed for sure.</p><p>To avoid that, he was going to need to make sure he had a lotof money on hand, and while Guild jobs were certainly going to help in that regard, he was going to need to figure out other means of revenue to speed things up. How he was going to do that though, he was not yet sure.</p><p>A sudden cry of pain echoed through the night and broke through the most recent quiet that had settled on the cemetery, quickly followed by the sounds of panicked yelling and desperate fighting. Getting to his feet in order to get a better view, Lucifer's head whipped towards the direction of the sound, which had come from the west.</p><p>The three boys were in trouble.</p><p>One of them, who Lucifer recognized to be Cristian, the taller of the three, was on the ground and had a particularly nasty set of scratches across one of his arms. His weapon appeared to no longer be in his possession. Blood flowed freely from his open wounds, and his thin leather chest piece looked torn up and covered in fresh blood as well. The other two were busy trying to fend off the skeletons that had advanced on them in the thick fog, and they were dangerously close to losing that fight.</p><p>They had let down their guard as the night wore on, Lucifer determined, and the thick fog probably hadn't helped matters. There were only five skeletons attacking them at the moment, with a few broken ones already lying still on the ground from their desperate attempts at defense, but those remaining five were more than capable of ripping the young lads to shreds.</p><p>With the two other boys already engaged in battle against multiple enemies, they were unable to help Cristian, who was busy scrambling on the ground to get away from the advancing skeleton that had now marked him for death.</p><p>A part of Lucifer wanted to go save the poor boys from their deadly predicament, but another part of him was telling him not to just blindly rush forward without thinking things through. This Exam was a dangerous undertaking and the boys knew the risks when they stayed in the cemetery past sundown. If Lucifer blindly went over to help, he would be hindering his own plans by failing to become an adventurer, unless the Guild was willing to make an exception. But the mage had been adamant that there were no exceptions handed down by the Guild, so that seemed highly unlikely.</p><p>He looked over to Ria's post on the walls and saw that she was only now quickly pulling up her telescope to take a look – it occurred to him then that her telescope was probably enchanted with something similar to his <strong>[</strong>True Sight<strong>]</strong>. It seemed that she had also slackened in her duties given her late notice of recent developments, unless she really meant what she said earlier about simply letting them die if they were unable to fend for themselves.</p><p>Not that it mattered now, because even if she wanted to intervene and save them, by the time she and the guards made it over to the boys it would be far too late and at least one of the boys was either going to die or be gravely injured – the pun was not lost on him, grim though it was. Sure enough, he noticed the redheaded mage's panicked movements as she seemed to be shouting something at the guards, some of whom were running down to the gate.</p><p>His attention returning to the situation on the western side of the cemetery, Lucifer began to move in that direction, trying to think of what he might be able to do to help without jeopardizing his own plans. It occurred to him then that maybe he didn't have to leave his designated area to help the boys. With his strength, he could probably throw something like a rock and at least knock off one or two of the skeletons to give them a hand.</p><p>But no, there was a chance he might hit one of the boys instead since they were locked in combat at the moment. He hadn't practiced throwing anything with accuracy and this probably wasn't the best time to test how accurate his throwing arm was, especially given the not insignificant distance he would have to throw.</p><p>Casting a spell would probably work, but now that Ria was clearly looking on and the guards were coming in they would definitely see the spells and it would be obvious that he was the one who cast it. He didn't want anyone to know he could wield magic for as long as he could keep that a secret.</p><p>The same problem applied to the idea of him turning invisible and teleporting over there to help. There was a strong chance that his disappearance, and the subsequent disappearance of his torchlight, however short it was, would be noted by anyone on the walls. Add to that the sudden and inexplicable appearance of an invisible force that assisted the young would-be adventurers, and it wouldn't take a genius to put two-and-two together.</p><p>Whatever Lucifer did, he <em>had </em>to visibly stay within his area.</p><p>Then he stopped abruptly and stood there dumbstruck as the thought hit him like a ton of bricks: he could simply use a summon! And he nearly laughed at how stupid he was to even forget that he wielded that power. He had been masquerading as a warrior all day and had gotten into the mindset of not really using magic, and somehow when confronted with this crisis he completely forgot the most versatile part of his magical arsenal. Even though he had summoned some skeleton warriors but a few hours ago for his own amusement.</p><p>Shaking his head at his own failings, he tried to decide on what was best to summon based on the situation. He had a range limit for his spells, which included his summoning, and the range for summoning was very short. He stopped moving when he reached the edge of his assigned area. Whatever it was, the summon needed to be fast to cover the distance quickly, and it also needed to be discrete. That removed a significant portion of his choices.</p><p>"Aahhh!" cried another of the boys as Lucifer watched a skeleton rake him painfully across the face with its claw-like fingers. It was Alejandro. And it appeared there were several more skeletons moving over to them, attracted by all the commotion.</p><p>There wasn't much time to deliberate anymore. He looked up to the walls where Ria had been almost all night and noticed that she was gone. A quick scan of the battlements showed only a handful of guards remained up there. When his eyes drifted down to the gate, it was already opening up. He assumed that Ria was probably among them and therefore not looking through her enchanted telescope. Turning back to the fighting off to the west, he hoped the fog would obscure him enough from their sight as he summoned forth the first angel that came to mind for the task.</p><p>"<strong>[</strong>Summon Fallen Angel: Bezaliel<strong>]</strong>."</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>xxXxx</b>
</p><p> </p><p>Cristian was crying. And bleeding. And his pants were most definitely wet. Had he pissed himself? Or did he land in some mud? Maybe. He couldn't remember.</p><p>Everything hurt. His head. His chest. His arms and legs. His whole painful body was damp from the fog and his own sweat. Dirt clung to him all over now, having scrambled painfully across the ground only moments ago. Exhaustion sunk deep into his bones, and yet fear and adrenaline coursed through is veins and kept him wide awake as he was forced to bear witness to a living nightmare.</p><p>He had lost his spear moments ago when the skeleton had overpowered him, throwing him to the ground – or had he simply tripped? – but not before it took some swipes at him with its sharp bony fingers that were like claws. The fingers had dug deep gashes into his skin and tore through his worn leather armor like it was plain cloth. They had seared with pain, and now they throbbed and burned and he wanted it to stop.</p><p>He had enough wits left about him to try and scramble away on all fours as the skeleton advanced on him slowly, groaning and growling constantly as it rattled and clicked its bones. The pain in Cristian's wounded arm intensified, making him hiss and wince, and he thought he was starting to feel a little dizzy. His tired muscles screamed at the continued exertion of his crawling and he dropped face first onto the damp soil, breathing heavily.</p><p>Twisting around along his uninjured side, he looked up and back at the skeleton who was only a few feet away. The dark hollows where its eyes should have been seemed to stare straight into his soul, and he whimpered. He crab walked backwards some more, trying to buy himself some more time, until his back met the cold hardness of a tombstone. With fear in his eyes he thought grimly that they were probably going to add one for him there soon enough.</p><p><em>Here lies Cristian, foolish young boy who thought himself an adventurer, </em>it would read.</p><p>Would he even get a tombstone though? He wondered if there were any unmarked graves in the cemetery. He and his friends were orphans with little to their names.</p><p>"Raghhh!" roared one of his friends in defiance. He glanced in the direction it came from and saw that Anthony was trying to wrestle with a skeleton who had grabbed a hold of his small shield. Anthony's sword was nowhere to be found. It seemed he had lost his weapon too. That wasn't good. A second skeleton was not far behind the first one. It was only a matter of time now.</p><p>Turning his eyes towards his other friend, he saw that Alejandro at least looked to have done some visible damage to the skeletons he was fighting. One was now missing a few ribs and half an arm, the other no longer had a jaw and was also missing some ribs. But Alejandro was also hurt and tiring, and the undead were unrelenting. He had but one of his daggers in his hand, the other lost somewhere in the dirt along with Cristian's spear and Anthony's sword.</p><p>They had been careless, Cristian thought bitterly. Their tactic throughout the night had been working as they coordinated quite well to take down the skeletons one at a time as they came. Then as the skeletons seemed to take longer and longer to appear as the night wore on, and the mist had settled between the tombstones, they had started to get really tired. They decided to take turns sleeping – two would sleep while one would keep watch – but then the third fell asleep too.</p><p>It had been Alejandro. The weariness had crept into his bones too and the lack of any enemies nearby probably made him feel safe to close his eyes for only a moment. A mistake, clearly, for that moment turned into him falling asleep in short order.</p><p>When they woke up, the skeletons were already upon them and it was chaos and pain from then on. It was a wonder they weren't actually killed in their sleep.</p><p>Cristian had barely had enough time to grab his spear, maneuvering it quickly and purely on instinct in front of him as he used the shaft to fend off the skeleton that was literally almost on top of him. He couldn't even remember how he got to his feet, but at some point he did, only to fall back down again in the end.</p><p>Cristian laughed bitterly. They wanted to be adventurers. Orphans like them always heard about the amazing tales and impressive feats that the adventurers accomplished wherever they could. It distracted them from their daily life of hardship and poverty. A harsh world without parents. It also gave them something to aspire to, to dream about, and they had been so naive about the risks involved with actually being one.</p><p>Sure, they had been incredibly scared and nervous as the Gold Plate adventurer earlier told them that their lives would be on the line, and they were certainly aware that they <em>could </em>die, but they were stubborn and confident and young so they believed that they wouldn't actually be in <em>that </em>much danger. As long as they stuck together and did their best, they would turn out okay in the end.</p><p>Now to actually be faced with what looked to be certain death, Cristian realized how foolish they were. They were not ready for this, not by a long shot.</p><p>He had told the other two as much when they first cooked up this idea, but they were more eager than he and had the stronger of wills so he reluctantly went along. They were his friends, and he needed to be there for them no matter what. The trio even managed to find some old weapons that were laying about, ones that nobody would really miss, and the leather armor they got for practically free from an armorer who was going to discard the worn and thin leathers.</p><p>"Armed and armored" they thought they could play adventurer and after some months spent practicing with the old weapons in their possession, against each other a few times but mostly just swinging and stabbing randomly through the air or against poor unsuspecting trees, they signed up to enter the Guild, lying about their experience and age in the process.</p><p>And Cristian actually thought they might have pulled it off. They were winning their fights against these horrifying undead and were working well together as a team, as they always had in anything they did, but then this disaster happened. Now all was lost. There would be no celebratory meal after this. Not in this life, at least.</p><p>The skeleton was almost upon him again, its razor sharp fingers still wet and dripping with the red of his blood. It growled steadily, no more and no less than it had been earlier. He briefly thought of fighting and clawing back at the skeleton to try and survive, but he had nothing left. He was exhausted and beaten and bloody. He could scarcely move even his head anymore.</p><p>Somewhere nearby, his friends cried out with fresh pain. Well, he thought, it was a small comfort at least that they were all going to die together. Together until the very end, like the true friends they were. Maybe if they were lucky they would move into the afterlife together and join the Four Gods in the heavens. He closed his eyes and hoped it would be over soon.</p><p>But death did not come, nor did the claws that were supposed to bring it. Instead, Cristian heard and felt a sudden rush of wind and the sound of snapping and rattling bones. And then the growling ceased all around, abruptly turning into an eerie silence. But then he heard it, almost imperceptibly. The faint sound of beating wings.</p><p>Eyes fluttering open, Cristian gasped and his mouth hung open as he beheld a winged being floating a few feet away the likes of which he had never seen or heard about ever before. The fog had cleared somewhat and he was able to see it clearly. It looked like an angel, and yet instead of being bright and enshrouded by holy light like it should have been, this one was dark and wreathed in ever-shifting shadows. Its mighty wings had to be twice its height across and were black as night, the darkness within them rippling with each beat of its wings.</p><p>It wore a simple hooded robe of dull gray that loosely covered the entirety of its length and went all the way to its wrists, the robes billowing about as if blown by wind even when there was none. A plain black belt was wrapped around its waist. Its hands were covered in dark gloves and hung at its sides in what seemed a relaxed manner. On its right hip, dangling from a leather strap attached to its belt, was a black book, and on its left hip was a sheathed sword.</p><p>Its hood was up and a swirling darkness shrouded its face, and somehow Cristian knew that no matter how much light there was he would not be able to peer into it and look upon its face. Two points of white light flared where its eyes should have been, but it disappeared so quicky he wasn't sure if he had simply imagined it.</p><p>He thought that surely this was what the Angel of Death looked like. Surely it had come to take his soul away.</p><p>So captivated was he by the strange sight that he failed to notice the remains of the skeletons that had been attacking them now strewn recklessly across the ground or the still breathing crumpled forms of his friends nearby, and it wasn't until the winged being disappeared into shadowy tendrils absorbed into the darkness of the night that Cristian finally came to the realization that it had apparently not come for him.</p><p>He looked around. He was alive. They were <em>all </em>alive. Pain shot through him once more as he was reminded of his injuries, but he leaned his head back and shut his eyes, relieved that it was over.</p><p>Cristian didn't know how long he lay there, still trying to process what he had seen, but then suddenly the rest of the fog around them cleared with an unnatural blast of wind and Miss Ria, the redheaded mage from the Guild, arrived along with some of the City Guard in tow. They all looked thoroughly confused at first, searching for enemies they had been expecting to fight. But when it became clear that there were none around, they immediately rushed to tend to the wounded boys.</p><p>"Hang in there, boy," said one of the guards urgently as she knelt down next to him and began to bandage his wounds, "It's over now." Her voice sounded a world away, as if he were only hearing the faintest echo of it in his mind as it crossed the vast chasms between worlds.</p><p>His eyes opening just a crack and drifting towards the east, Cristian could see that the sky was starting to brighten and he let out a long, pained breath. Dawn was finally breaking over the horizon and heralded the end of their harrowing Exam. And then he closed his eyes and drifted off into the darkness that swallowed him.</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>xxXxx</b>
</p><p> </p><p>"It is done, Lord Morningstar," said the Angel of Shadows, his voice like a collection of heavy ethereal echoes, simultaneously coming from everywhere and yet nowhere. His impressive wings of darkness were featherless and nearly silent as they moved while the being hung in the air, but it seemed to Lucifer to be more for show rather than actually keeping the angel aloft.</p><p>Lucifer nodded, having seen the angel's handiwork with his own eyes, and was pleased with how easy it had been to convey commands to the angel once it was summoned, and how well and swiftly the angel had executed them.</p><p>Arguably the stealthiest angel in his arsenal, Bezaliel was certainly impressive, having moved through the intervening shadows between him and the boys to get to them in almost no time at all, and on top of that the Angel of Shadows looked far more badass than he remembered it being in YGGDRASIL. It made Lucifer want to try and summon all the other named angels he had available to him to see what they looked like.</p><p>Not to mention the startling discovery that the summoned angel could converse fully with him and seemed to recognize him beyond the simple summoner-summoned bond. It was something he needed to look into more.</p><p>"You did well, Bezaliel," he praised his summon honestly, curious if the Angel of Shadows would remember this encounter when next he was summoned. Something else to experiment with later.</p><p>"I am pleased to serve, Lord." He appeared to incline his head deferentially, though it was hard to tell. "Do you have further orders for me?"</p><p>"No. Thank you, Bezaliel," replied Lucifer, and then cancelled the spell he used to summon the angel to his side. And blinked. Because nothing appeared to happen at first and the angel was still floating before him even though the summoner could clearly feel the spell was no longer active.</p><p>Then Belaziel spoke in that strange collection of deep otherworldly voices that echoed all around. "If you ever have need of me, Lord, I will answer your summons without delay." Another apparent bow of the hooded, shadow-filled head and the angel abruptly dissolved into shadowy motes that dissipated into nothingness, leaving Lucifer alone and absolutely speechless.</p><p>He didn't have much time to think about all the implications of such a momentous discovery before Ria and a few of the City Guard along with her finally came for him. The redhead walked right up to him, blue eyes beholding him with a fiery intensity, one that burned with more curiosity than before and... respect? Awe? Lucifer's lips spread into a smile underneath his horned helm. He could get used to being looked at like that.</p><p>"I saw what you did," she said accusingly.</p><p>Lucifer stiffened. Had she seen Bezaliel? Had she seen him summon the angel? His mind raced to try and come up with alternative theories to try and persuade the mage into believing instead, but before he could say anything at all about the celestial being she spoke again.</p><p>"That was pretty amazing how you handled those skeleton warriors," she explained. "I've seen far prettier swordsmanship, mind you, but yours was still very effective. And perhaps most impressive was how you took them all down by yourself in such a quick fashion. I'm curious, what martial arts did you use? And who are you, really?" She tried to peer through the slits of his helmet for a glimpse at his face, noting that he seemed to have eyes of bright gold.</p><p>Relaxing at the realization that she was not in fact talking about the angel he summoned, he replied amicably, "I'm just Lucifer Morningstar, a traveling noble from a far away country. As for what martial arts I used... trade secrets, I'm afraid."</p><p>Ria made the slightest groaning sound before covering it up with a quick laugh.</p><p>"Well, <em>just</em> Lucifer Morningstar, congratulations on passing your Exam! I do apologize for what now seems to have been a task far beneath someone of your skills... sir," she said, adding the last part as she processed what he had said about him being a noble.</p><p>Lucifer inclined his head graciously. "Thank you, Miss Ria. Just Lucifer is fine. And it was no bother, rules are rules like you said, and everyone has to pay their dues, yes?"</p><p>Ria smiled. "Right. Well, Lucifer, we should head to the gate. I'm sure you don't want to spend any more time in here than you already have. I know <em>I</em> don't."</p><p>They started walking, the handful of guards following suit and speaking in quiet whispers behind them. The guards appeared to be alert, and Lucifer inferred that some skeletons probably still spawned around dawn. None did that morning.</p><p>Ria appeared completely different from the way she had presented herself before the Exam, and Lucifer found himself enjoying this warmer and more lighthearted mage. He guessed that her earlier display was her attempt at being more professional while conveying the serious gravity of what the would-be adventurers were about to undertake.</p><p>"How... did the others fare?" he asked, noticing that Ria hadn't said anything to him about what happened with the boys. Did she think he wouldn't care or perhaps she thought that he didn't notice they were in grave danger right before dawn? The fog had been quite thick after all, though the noise of their fighting was loud enough to be heard from where he was.</p><p>"Well," Ria hesitated, "The trio of boys were seriously hurt towards the end, but they'll survive. They technically managed to make it to sunrise, but I'll include in my notes that they just barely did and were heavily injured in the process, so they'll probably be placed under strict guidance and supervision until they're better able to perform in the field. The girls surprisingly did well and passed though."</p><p>"I'm sorry for what happened to those boys, but I'm glad they made it out of here alive. And the girls as well," he said as he looked around the steadily brightening cemetery, the fog dissipating slowly. "Will the boys be taken to the Temple for healing?"</p><p>Ria nodded. "They'll likely have to pay with labor owed to the Temple, but yes they should be getting tended to right now actually."</p><p>"The Guild won't front the cost? They're technically Guild members now aren't they?" asked Lucifer curiously. He thought the Guild had a special arrangement with the Temple for injured adventurers.</p><p>Ria's eyes widened. "You know what... you're right! I'll have to speak to the Temple about it. But after I file my report and get the paperwork started."</p><p>"That's good to hear." Lucifer made a note to check in on them when he stopped by the Temple at some point. He still needed to learn more from Julius. "What happens now?"</p><p>"Now <em>you</em> get to go home, eat, and rest while <em>I</em> still have to return to the Guild Hall and submit my reports before I can tuck in for the day," complained the mage with a pout.</p><p>Lucifer chuckled. "Then I am grateful to you for taking your duties seriously and properly seeing them through to completion."</p><p>"As is expected of all adventurers," reminded Ria, before frowning, "Not that everyone thinks like that, unfortunately."</p><p>One of the guards walking somewhat close by cleared her throat loudly, and Ria seemed to jump as a sheepish look crossed her face.</p><p>"Oh! Right... uhh... Sir Lucifer Morningstar," Lucifer didn't bother to correct her that he should technically be a lord, not just a sir. After all he had only just decided to embrace his supposed lordship. "One more thing. My friend who is a sergeant of the City Guard would like to meet you. Her name is..."</p><p>Just as she said that, the armored woman in question – holding a halberd that looked somewhat unwieldy for her frame – swiftly stepped up to them and smiled at him, cutting off her friend and introducing herself, "Hello, Sir Morningstar. My name is Tara. Tara Schemp. Sergeant of the Oldaven City Guard. On behalf of the city and the Guard, I would like to thank you for taking care of those skeleton warriors that appeared. We would have been hard-pressed to defeat them ourselves if you hadn't been there, and the other adventurers might not have survived the encounter." She bowed to him in gratitude.</p><p>Lucifer gestured for her to stand straight. "Please, there's no need to thank me. I was simply fulfilling the task that was required of me, and that was to slay all undead that I came across here from sunset to sunrise."</p><p>"I appreciate your humility," responded the sergeant with a smile, "Still, what you did deserves great merit. Know that if you ever get into any trouble... not that I expect you to or anything, but if you need help from the City Guard... you need only but ask. I'll be sure to tell the others guards of your feat."</p><p>Lucifer nodded. "Thank you." Influence with the City Guard might come in handy at some point. He turned his attention back to the redhead, who had watched the exchange silently. "Miss Ria, when might I be able to pick up my plate and sign up for a job?"</p><p>Ria's laugh came easily. "Chomping at the bit, eh? Well, technically as soon as my report is filed it'll take them maybe an hour or two at most to process your papers and issue your plate. And as soon as you have your plate, you can take a job, so if you really wanted to you could get both your plate and your first job later today."</p><p>Lucifer was happy to hear that. "Excellent. I'll drop by the Guild Hall later this afternoon then. After I... rest."</p><p>They said their goodbyes and exchanged a couple more thank yous when they made it to the South Gate – Lucifer saw that the two young sisters were waiting at the gate to talk to Ria about something – before they parted ways, and Lucifer kept smiling as he made his way back to the inn and the shy morning sun began to peek tentatively over the horizon.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0011"><h2>11. Chapter 11</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Note on NW currency: 1 copper is $10.00, so that means 1 silver is $130, 1 gold is $1,300, 1 platinum is $13,000. Honestly hadn't really thought about currency too much until now. Heh. <br/>Also, YGGDRASIL:NW exchange rate is 1:2 so 1 YGGDRASIL gold coin is equal to 2 NW gold coins, which is $2,600.</p><p>So right now, Lucifer has $380 (2 silvers, 12 coppers) of NW currency in his pocket. The dollars conversion is just for me to have a better sense of valuation.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Two men who didn't look conspicuous <em>at all</em> were standing across the street from The Rosemoon Inn. They were dressed in plain gray cloaks with their hoods up to obscure their faces, one of them leaning against the wall of a building and the other with his back to the inn facing the man leaning on the wall. Both were armed if you were to look closely enough, but they hid their weapons fairly well from cursory glances.</p><p>"What the hell is so special about this place that we've gotta watch it so closely this fucking early in the morning?" asked the guy with his back to the inn.</p><p>"Shut up! Someone might hear you, dumbass," growled the second man, then quieter he said, "Weren't you listening to the instructions earlier? It's got something to do with the other guys who were attacked last night." He crossed his arms and relaxed in an effort to try and look like he belonged where he was. It really was very early in the morning, what with the sun only beginning to emerge from its nightly slumber, and the streets were practically empty.</p><p>"You know, they probably just picked a dumb fight with the wrong person. They were always lacking in discipline and causing trouble for the rest of us."</p><p>"In the middle of <em>our</em> fields?" said the other incredulously, eyes darting around the empty street anxiously.</p><p>"Well... alright, maybe not. But I never really liked those guys anyway. Assholes, the lot of 'em, so good riddance I say," replied the first adamantly, shaking his head.</p><p>"They were our fellows, and they're dead now. You oughta be more respectful."</p><p>The first guy snorted. "They were assholes."</p><p>"Count your lucky stars that it wasn't you out there when it happened!" snarled the second guy.</p><p>The first guy shrugged. "Yeah. I think I <em>will</em> count them. And you know what? I think my lucky stars are also telling me that we don't need two people watching the same entrance so I'm going to go inside. They're probably cooking up some breakfast in there, or are about to, and I very much want to eat something."</p><p>"What?!" blurted out the guy leaning on the wall, standing up straight as his hands fell to his sides and balled into fists. He glared at the other man, as if it would get him to start acting appropriately.</p><p>"You deaf now?"</p><p>"Y-You can't do that! Damn it man! Stop playing around, this is <em>serious</em>. One false move and we could be dead like those other guys. <em>Dead</em>."</p><p>"Well, I'd rather have a full belly and then die than live another minute out here in the cold, empty street with you on an empty stomach," and with that said he walked into The Rose Moon Inn without so much as a backwards glance at his companion.</p><p>"Fuck!" the one left outside said under his breath. He wanted to punch his annoyingly flippant partner in the face, but he couldn't very well leave his post to do so. Someone needed to be out here to keep an eye out. With a frustrated sigh, he continued his vigil and really hoped this wouldn't turn out badly for them.</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>xxXxx</b>
</p><p> </p><p>Lucifer used <strong>[</strong>Teleportation<strong>]</strong> – he realized it a more discrete way to travel magically than <strong>[</strong>Gate<strong>]</strong> – and appeared in the alley behind The Rose Moon Inn, grateful that nobody was there to witness his arrival, and made his way around the building to enter through the front. There was a back door entrance to the inn, but he figured it would be frowned upon by Otto if he was seen walking in that way since he guessed that it went into the kitchens or something.</p><p>Besides, it was early in the morning, and Otto probably slept back there too so he didn't want to wake up the innkeeper if he still happened to be sleeping.</p><p>His mind preoccupied with the events that occurred in the cemetery, Lucifer didn't pay much heed to the lone man across the street who seemed to stiffen up at his sudden appearance.</p><p>Once inside, the angel noted there was one person at the bar, which was a bit odd since it was so early but he didn't think much of it. Perhaps it was someone who was also staying at the inn and had woken up early. He could smell the aroma of cooking food, though he wasn't sure if that was a lingering smell from yesterday or if it was a new smell coming from the kitchens right now.</p><p>The man at the bar had his hood partially pulled back, revealing a curly mess of black hair and when he turned to look at Lucifer he regarded the armored warrior with his brown eyes for only a few seconds before giving a nod and returning to staring at the door that led into the kitchens.</p><p>Lucifer didn't spare him another glance as he made his way up the steps and was in his room shortly, shafts of gentle morning light pouring in from between the window slats. His eyes immediately went to the lone figure still in bed. The elf was awake.</p><p>Kiah sat up slowly as Lucifer entered and removed his helmet, the piece of armor disappearing into his inventory in a brief flash of light, revealing his spiky white hair and his handsome face. Golden eyes met deep blue.</p><p>"Good morning, Kiah," he greeted her with a brilliant smile, still on a high after everything that happened at the Exam. "How are you feeling?"</p><p>"Good... morning?" Kiah pulled her legs up and hugged them to her chest while still partially under the covers. She still found it strange that she was being treated so kindly by a human, and she wasn't sure if she'd get used to it anytime soon. "I feel... better." Her voice was soft and timid, like it had been since she had first started speaking to him.</p><p>He was just glad that she was no longer a crying mess and seemed to be regaining a little bit of vitality compared to when he found her. It was a wonder what a little healing magic and some food could do in a little over a day. Lucifer went and refilled her water again with his magical pitcher. It was quickly becoming a routine, and he mused that perhaps he should be called the <em>Waterbringer</em> instead of his usual angelic title.</p><p>He handed her a cup of water, which she gratefully accepted and finished in a few gulps.</p><p>"Do you feel rested enough to head outside for a change? I imagine you must be getting a little... stir crazy," he said as he proceeded to remove the rest of his armor, leaving only the white, gold-trimmed robes that he wore underneath. He wouldn't need it for a while, he thought.</p><p>"Maybe... a little." She looked unsure. She hadn't even left her bed to go to the bathroom. Thankfully elves had a hardier constitution than humans, and were able to go longer periods without needing to relieve themselves, but it had been a while since she had so the pressure was certainly mounting. As a slave, she had been used to going in a bucket that was usually placed near wherever she was assigned to sleep, but there were no buckets in the room she was in so she had been holding it all this time.</p><p>She thought about asking Lucifer for a bucket, but then thought better of it. Why would he want her to relieve herself in a bucket that would be staying in the same room as him? Obviously he would be against such an idea. She would just have to tough it out for now and then maybe relieve herself outside somewhere when she had some time.</p><p>Lucifer went to his barely used bed and laid down, staring up at the ceiling, reminded that it was not the most comfortable bed and curious as to how Kiah was finding the accommodations. He resolved to ask her later at some point.</p><p>"Think on it. No pressure. Though I can't imagine you're having much fun cooped up in here," he said.</p><p>Her head turned so she could better see him. "Fun...?" she repeated, her body starting to squirm a little now that her thoughts had touched upon her need to go to the bathroom. Hopefully she could distract herself enough to lessen the pressure.</p><p>"Indeed. Fun! You know, pass the time enjoyably doing something entertaining and... stimulating..." he trailed off as his thoughts turned a bit lewd and if he could've blushed, he would've. Fiercely. He shook off such thoughts and pushed on, "Ahem... uh... yeah so you know. Reading. Playing games. Singing. Listening to music. That sort of thing."</p><p>Kiah considered his words. She had done things like that when she was younger, when her enclave in the great forest was still peaceful and happy and her life was easy and carefree. But that felt like a lifetime ago now, and a world away.</p><p>"Anyway," Lucifer broke the silence that had settled, "If you're feeling up to it, you can head out with me later. Stretch your legs a bit. Get some fresh air and all."</p><p>"But..." she hesitated, a worried look crossing her pale features. "Is it safe?"</p><p>Lucifer didn't answer right away, which made the elf worry even more. "Well, no one seems to have picked up on us yet, but I suppose it's too early to say if they're trying to track you down or not. But don't worry, I'll keep you safe, and I suppose you can also wear a little disguise too if that'll make you feel better."</p><p>She was squirming a bit more noticeably now. Her attempts at trying to ignore the call of nature that was now growing within her were failing. She couldn't very well relieve herself in bed, especially with Lucifer right there a mere few feet away. That would be awful! She tried really hard to stamp down the feeling of needing to go and swallowed hard. "I... guess."</p><p>"Great! It's settled then." Lucifer exclaimed as he sat up and turned to smile at her, his smile instantly turning brittle at the sight of her squirming around uncomfortably. Eyes narrowing ever so slightly, he asked, "Are you... okay?"</p><p>Her cheeks flushed heavily as she lowered her head. "I..." she hesitated, bowing her head and not looking him in the eye. "I need to go."</p><p>Lucifer was confused. She looked almost like she was feverish and about to have a seizure or something, but she had looked fine only a moment ago. What had happened? And what did she mean by need to go? Did she want to leave his company? Had she decided she was done with him? Perhaps he had said something to upset her, though he couldn't think of what it could have been. He leaned forward, elbows resting on his knees.</p><p>"Okay," he said seriously. "Where do you need to go?"</p><p>Kiah turned away and mumbled something.</p><p>"What was that?" Even his super hearing had failed to catch that one, impressively enough.</p><p>"To go pee," she whispered, still not looking at him.</p><p>"Oh." Lucifer said, then his golden eyes rounded in sudden understanding. "OH!"</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>xxXxx</b>
</p><p> </p><p>Leinas stirred, barely breaking through the surface of consciousness. Her body felt heavy as iron, and her mind dull like the worn out edge of a long overused blade. She drifted, half-asleep, across a cool expanse of a starless night sky. She couldn't remember where she was or what she was doing, but she had the strangest feeling that she was far away from home and doing something very important.</p><p>She groaned as the heaviness of her body weighed on her. It was uncomfortable. She willed herself to wake up, to break out of this strange darkness that surrounded her, but it felt like she was struggling to emerge from the depths of quicksand. She tried harder.</p><p>Echoes of sound abruptly began to reverberate across the void that surrounded her. Voices. Familiar voices. But she couldn't make out what they were saying. They were echoing too much and the words seemed to all blend together incoherently. She tried to concentrate on them, trying to make sense of it. The effort was draining.</p><p>Slowly, the sounds began to sharpen somewhat and the voices became clear enough for her to make them out. They sounded familiar, yet she couldn't quite remember who they belonged to. There were two voices. No. Three. And they seemed to be talking about her.</p><p>"What happens now?" asked a male voice.</p><p>"We return Lady Rockbruise to her family, where she can seek medical aid for that... injury," said a second voice, "And then we take some much needed rest ourselves."</p><p>Injury? She was injured? There was a faint pain that filtered through the void accompanied by a flash of memory. A piercing otherworldly scream. Blood everywhere. Exhaustion. Pain. They were fleeting glimpses into what had happened to injure her, she could tell that much, but she couldn't see it in its entirety and so didn't really know what injury they spoke of.</p><p>The third voice was also male. "We're almost there. If we move quickly, we should be able to reach the Rockbruise Estate before sundown tomorrow. They'll know what to do."</p><p>"Do you think they'll reward us for carrying her back?" asked the first.</p><p>There was the sound of a smack, followed by a brief grunt of pain. "Ow!" said the first voice.</p><p>"Don't be stupid. We're soldiers who serve the House of Rockbruise. We are only doing our duty to our Lady and her family," scolded the second voice.</p><p>"I agree. Reward or not, we are fulfilling our duty as men sworn to her service, and to the service of her House," added the third.</p><p>"I was just thinking that it was possible they'd give us some kind of reward, you know? A little extra. Not that I was <em>actually</em> expecting anything," the first voice defended himself. "They just <em>might </em>give us something is all I was trying to say."</p><p>There was a snort from someone, but then silence ensued and Leinas wondered if she had somehow lost the ability to hear them again. She tried to concentrate on the feeling of hearing, as strange as that concept was to grasp in her disembodied state.</p><p>There was a distant crackling sound in the background. Was that a fire?</p><p>The second voice spoke again. His voice seemed the most familiar of the three. "I'm worried about her."</p><p>"Lady Rockbruise? She's strong. You know that," said the third.</p><p>"Far stronger than all of us. I mean did you see her take on that thing?" the first said with awe.</p><p>"Yeah, yeah. But that injury..." said the second, sounding genuinely troubled. "It... doesn't appear to be healing. I don't think it's natural."</p><p>"Aye," agreed the first.</p><p>Another silence. At this point Leinas was feeling extremely worried. What injury were they speaking of? She wanted to know. She <em>needed </em>to know. She tried to will herself to wake up, but couldn't, no matter how hard she pushed. She tried to speak to them, to ask them for help, but nothing happened and she remained silent. The heaviness of the darkness around her was too much to overcome.</p><p>"I'm sure they'll find someone who can heal it," replied the third voice confidently. "They're nobility. They can afford to call on the best healers from across the Empire if need be. And this is Lady Leinas we're talking about, the jewel of her family. They'll fix her up in no time. Nothing to worry about."</p><p>"I hope you're right," said the second, lingering doubt in his voice.</p><p>The voices suddenly faded and Leinas felt herself getting very tired. Too tired to keep pushing to stay afloat and conscious. It wasn't long until she fell back into the deeper parts of the void and slumbered once more. Her worries momentarily forgotten.</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>xxXxx</b>
</p><p> </p><p>Lucifer regarded the elf with a bit of awkwardness and some amusement as she returned to the room after being informed of where the bathroom was and plopped down quietly on the end of her bed facing the door. But he didn't know what to say to her so he kept silent.</p><p>Kiah, for her part, remained fixated on something on the floor as her hands idly played with the hem of her cloak. It was the only piece of clothing that she had, something that Lucifer had gifted to her. The fabric was comfortable enough on her skin, far better than the rough rags that she had been forced to wear before, so she was grateful for it.</p><p>The angel took note of the cloak, realizing that she definitely needed to get some more clothes besides it. And underwear. He remembered that she wasn't wearing any. Again, if he was capable of blushing, his face would be incredibly red. Thank goodness that was no longer a possibility. He sighed in relief and tried not to think too much about an underwear-less elf.</p><p>The elf turned her head and eyed him curiously, hearing his sigh. Her cheeks were still a bit pink from earlier. "W-What is it?"</p><p>"Nothing!" he said a little too quickly, then caught himself and added in a more measured tone, "Ahem. Nothing you should concern yourself over, Kiah."</p><p>She gave him a strange look that he couldn't quite place.</p><p>"Are you hungry?" he quickly changed the subject. "I think Otto is making breakfast downstairs. We can go down and eat together."</p><p>"Otto?" Her brow furrowed.</p><p>Oh. Right. She didn't know who that was because she hadn't met the man yet. "He's the innkeeper here at The Rose Moon Inn. He was... concerned about you, the first night we arrived, so I think he'd appreciate seeing you with his own eyes and making sure you're okay."</p><p>She looked down at her hands in her lap. "He's... human too?" She sounded scared.</p><p>"Yes. He seems to be a nice enough guy, a little rough around the edges and maybe distant and guarded, but nice." Lucifer was on his feet and by Kiah's side, extending an arm out to the young woman. "Come on. You can meet him for yourself. It'll be fine. I promise."</p><p>Her dark blue eyes studied his hand for a moment before she reluctantly took it and allowed him to help her to her feet, which Lucifer noted were bare as they pattered softly on the wood floor.</p><p>"Hold on," he said as she had already taken a couple of steps to the door. She stopped obediently. Reaching into his inventory, he pulled out a pair of simple leather boots and handed them to her.</p><p>Kiah's face registered surprise. Though simple in design, the boots appeared to be of good quality leather. "What-"</p><p>"I don't want you walking around outside without shoes," he explained. She might step on something nasty or dangerous and it would simply be irresponsible for him if he allowed her to do so.</p><p>"Thank you," she managed to say as she put the boots on the floor and maneuvered her feet one at a time into them.</p><p>Lucifer noticed that she had pretty good balance and didn't need to use him for support as she stood one-legged for a few moments to put them on.</p><p>The boots were too big and her feet were swimming in them, but she wasn't going to complain about another gift from the man who had saved her. She would make do and get used to them. It was more than she had before. To her astonishment, the boots glowed briefly and then changed in size to accommodate her feet, and they quickly felt perfectly snug.</p><p>"I was hoping that would happen," said Lucifer with a grin. He hadn't been entirely sure if it would work that way. Since equipment in YGGDRASIL were all technically one-size-fits-all, with various shapes and sizes able to use the same piece of equipment if passed around, he had a hunch that there would be some kind of magical resizing that would occur here in this new world to mimic that. That was the theory anyway, and it turned out to be true.</p><p>"Thank you," Kiah said again, a little louder this time. One of her ears stuck out from her hair from looking down at her feet, exposing the longer and sharper tip compared to human ears.</p><p>Lucifer reached out and adjusted her hair to hide it, causing the elf to stiffen at the gesture and her cheeks to flush again.</p><p>"It'll be best if we can hide your ears for now," Lucifer said calmly, not really making much of her reaction. "Come, let's eat and be on our way. We've lots to do and see." The angel then opened the door and ushered her out.</p><p>Otto was waiting on the man Lucifer saw at the bar earlier, who had ordered quite a big meal and was drinking something steaming out of a cup. The man didn't pay them any mind as he hungrily dug into his food. He appeared to already be more than halfway through it.</p><p>The innkeeper moved over to the two of them when they took a seat on the opposite end of the bar from the only other patron. Otto's eyes regarded the girl closely, and were it not for the fact that Lucifer felt he meant no harm and that he had shown concern for the girl a couple of times before, the angel would have been upset at the man's obvious staring.</p><p>"Hello miss... Kiah, was it?" the innkeeper glanced at Lucifer, who gave him a nod. The man returned to looking at the raven-haired girl. "You're looking recovered. Are you feeling okay?" asked the innkeeper in his gruff voice. He seemed genuinely concerned for her well-being, as Lucifer had noted before.</p><p>Kiah nodded quietly but didn't speak, and she didn't look the innkeeper in the eyes. She inched closer to Lucifer, taking comfort in his presence, but she didn't reach out for him.</p><p>The innkeeper noticed the subtle movement, and after another moment, the big man nodded as well and then turned his attention to Lucifer, his spiky hair as white as winter snow. "You want your daily meals, I take it?"</p><p>"Yes, please. Thank you, Otto." Lucifer gave him a warm smile.</p><p>Otto grunted and left for the kitchens, returning with two bowls of steaming hot stew that he placed in front of them. "Chicken stew this time," he stated. "Drinks?" he looked at Lucifer expectantly, apparently concluding that the girl had no interest in speaking with him at all, not that he seemed to take offense to that.</p><p>"What do you have... that isn't alcoholic?" Lucifer asked. It was <em>definitely</em> too early to be drinking alcohol.</p><p>"I have coffee, tea, and water," stated the big man flatly.</p><p>"No juice?" Lucifer asked hopefully. It certainly wasn't an extensive menu to choose from.</p><p>"No juice." Otto's eyes bore into his own as if daring him to make a comment about his lack of juice.</p><p>Lucifer, unperturbed, glanced to the elf next to him, her ears hidden by her raven black hair. "Well, Kiah... what do you want?"</p><p>Kiah looked up at him and then quietly said in a hopeful tone, "Tea?"</p><p>"Tea it is." Lucifer repeated louder with a chuckle.</p><p>Otto grunted.</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>xxXxx</b>
</p><p> </p><p>Father Julius Hawkins entered the Healing Ward of the Temple of Water carrying a basket full of fresh bandages, ointments, and various healing concoctions. It was the beginning of his shift on healing duty and his first order of business was to check on the status of three boys who had been brought in earlier that morning. Apparently, they had sustained some serious injuries while fighting the undead in the cemetery, a thought that made Julius shiver nervously.</p><p>As a holy man, he of course believed in the divine power of the Four Gods and with their power he knew that he could smite and repel any enemies of darkness or the undead if he needed to. That being said, he had never in his life been in a fight, and had never before seen an undead or a creature of darkness either. Well, outside of books and illustrations, that is.</p><p>If he didn't have to fight at all for the entirety of his life, he would be most grateful. The thought of facing off against the undead made him anxious, even if there were many guards and other priests and a giant wall between him and the restless, mindless dead of the cemetery. He hoped he would never have to face them, and he applauded all those who risked their lives to fight against the undead.</p><p>He approached the first bed and pulled the curtain aside, placing his basket gently next to the boy. He had some wounds on his face that were covered in bandages, and it looked like the wound needed to be dressed again.</p><p>The boy was asleep, and remained that way throughout the ministrations of the priest. That was a good thing considering that it would have probably been painful for the boy if he had been awake for it, especially when he tended to the wounds on his face. The wounds were healing slowly, but they were still there and ran deep and the healing ointments only relieved some of the pain.</p><p>Julius continued to dress the other wounds across the boy's body. When he was finished, he moved on to the next and did the same. This one wasn't hurt too bad and would probably be able to leave the next day. And he was actually half-awake when Julius was finished with him. When the priest moved to leave, the boy spoke and the priest stopped to listen.</p><p>"I saw it," whispered the boy, who was staring straight ahead and not at the priest. He had a strange look in his eyes.</p><p>Julius turned, basket of healing items tucked under an arm, and smiled at the young boy. "Good morning. What's your name, young man?"</p><p>"I saw it," repeated the boy, still whispering.</p><p>Julius's smile faltered. "Ah... What did you see?"</p><p>"Death," the boy said eerily.</p><p>Julius felt a shiver run down his spine. Blinking some more, he said, "I heard you were fighting the undead in the cemetery last night." Perhaps that was what the boy had meant. He had seen the undead, and they nearly died themselves in their fight against them. So, in a way, the boy did in fact see death in one form or another. Yes, he thought that made sense.</p><p>The boy finally shifted his gaze to the priest, his eyes looking shell-shocked. "Are angels real, Father?" The boy's voice was a touch louder now, but still a whisper.</p><p>Julius raised an eyebrow. "Yes. Angels are very real. They are divine beings who inhabit another world." Temple doctrine stated that they weren't any different than other creatures of this world, only that they had their own world and that they were beings of divinity, much like demons had their own world and were beings of darkness. However, there were some, like those in the Theocracy, who believed the angels to be divine messengers and servants of the Gods themselves.</p><p>"I saw one. I swear I saw it," said the boy.</p><p>Julius shifted on his feet. "You... saw an angel?" he asked tentatively.</p><p>The boy nodded, his expression very serious. He didn't have a hint of a smile or any indication that he was joking around, like boys his age often did. "I saw it," he repeated.</p><p>"That's nice," said Julius, still smiling, though it didn't quite reach his eyes now. He found it odd that the boy didn't seem to be happy about seeing an angel. Most people would be awed and possibly excited he thought. It wasn't everyday that someone got to see one. Though why someone had summoned an angel here was a mystery to him.</p><p>The boy regarded him quietly, and the priest felt a little uncomfortable for it. "It was black," said the boy.</p><p>"Black?" repeated Julius. Surely he wasn't talking about...</p><p>"The angel. It was bla... it had black wings," the boy seemed to correct himself, and he looked like he was trying to remember something. "It was dressed in gray, or silver. But its wings were black."</p><p>Julius swallowed. Blinked. That wasn't right. Angels, from what he knew of them, always had white wings. He had never heard of an angel with black wings before. Perhaps he was traumatized by his near-death encounter with the undead and was hallucinating or dreaming about such things. The poor boy.</p><p>"Listen, my boy, angels don't have black wings," he explained like someone would to a child who misunderstood something that should be common knowledge.</p><p>"This one did," the boy stated firmly. There was a fierce look to his eye, one that said that he believed what he was saying with all his being.</p><p>"Ah..." Julius didn't know what else to say. That was a look of someone who would not be persuaded otherwise, no matter what anyone said. Perhaps the boy just needed some more rest to sort things out and recover from the incident. The trauma was clearly still very fresh in his young mind. "I see. Well, I should go tend to your other friend," the priest excused himself lamely.</p><p>The boy didn't appear to mind and the priest stepped away and slid the curtain to hide him away from sight.</p><p>Taking a few deep breaths, Julius shook his head and continued on to the last of the boys. That was a weird interaction, he had to admit. But he couldn't blame the boy for it, not after knowing what he had been through. It had been quite an ordeal, no doubt, and the boy's mind must have been playing tricks on him or something. Besides, the boy was still young and sometimes prone to flights of fancy, especially when it came to the adventurers that many young kids looked up to.</p><p>When he pulled back the curtain to administer to the third boy, he was thankfully asleep and Julius worked to reapply the healing ointments and replace the bandages all along his arms and his chest, where deep gashes in the boy's flesh were slowly mending. This one was definitely the most injured of the three. The wounds were ugly red, black, and purple things that stretched across his youthful skin.</p><p>Julius, still partially distracted by the second boy's strange words and claims of seeing a dark angel in the cemetery of all places, accidentally pushed too hard when he was reapplying the ointment to one of the wounds, causing some of the scabs to break and fresh blood to leak out of the small portion of it that was now reopened. The boy hissed and his eyes fluttered open, and the priest silently berated himself for losing concentration and causing the boy unnecessary pain. Gods forgive him.</p><p>"I'm sorry," Julius said as he quickly tried to stanch the bleeding. It wasn't anything serious, thankfully.</p><p>"It's... okay... Father," the boy said, though he winced and hissed at the slight pain each time Julius dabbed a paste that worked to stop the bleeding.</p><p>"There. That should do it. I apologize, my boy, I was... distracted," Julius said with an apologetic smile.</p><p>The boy simply nodded.</p><p>When the wound was tended to again, Julius began to pack up. He had other patients to get to. "There. All done," the priest said, "You should get some more rest. It helps to speed up your body's healing."</p><p>"Father," the boy said hesitantly.</p><p>"Yes?"</p><p>"Are angels real?"</p><p>Julius stared at the boy. What were the odds that the two boys would ask the same thing? "W-Why yes, yes they are. Why do you ask?" he finally managed to respond after the boy gave him a curious look.</p><p>The boy appeared to think for a moment, but then looked away. "Nevermind... sorry. It's... It's probably nothing."</p><p>"Tell me," Julius said earnestly, suddenly interested. Unless the boys had conspired to give the same make-believe story, which wasn't out of the realm of possibility, he couldn't ignore it if they happened to <em>actually </em>see an angel somewhere. Especially now that two people were claiming to have seen it. Perhaps he'd talk to the second boy again later, once his more pressing duties were finished. But at least he could get a few more details out of this one and then corroborate it with the other's description.</p><p>The boy seemed uncertain, then spoke slowly. "Back in... the cemetery... we were about to die." He paused, taking in a deep breath as if to calm himself.</p><p>"Go on," Julius encouraged him gently, slowly taking a seat at the edge of the bed.</p><p>The boy's brown eyes stared directly into Julius's. "We were about to die, but we were saved... I think."</p><p>"You were saved?" repeated Julius carefully.</p><p>Nodding, the boy was somber as he continued, "By an angel. An angel with black wings."</p><p>Julius's heart was now beginning to gallop in his chest. "Please," he said with an encouraging smile, "Tell me more."</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>xxXxx</b>
</p><p> </p><p>The cool morning air was already starting to warm as the sun slowly rose into the sky. Kiah clutched the hem of Lucifer's sleeve in a tight grip as they walked through the streets of Oldaven. She was a step behind the golden-eyed man with spiky white hair, peering carefully from around his torso at the city as it slowly came to life around them.</p><p>She had always seen it from a distance at the farm, with its high walls and large stone buildings. Pillars of smoke rose from countless chimneys in the winter. She always imagined what it would be like to live there, a place so very different from anything she had ever known. Never would she have thought to actually see it for herself.</p><p>There were so many people. Too many. It made her feel very uneasy. Some of them looked their way, and she desperately tried to avoid meeting their eyes like she had been told at the farm. She was very much aware of how her hair moved as they walked and she kept adjusting it for fear of her ears being exposed on accident and possibly causing them any trouble.</p><p>Lucifer kept reassuring her that after some thought he figured even if people saw her ears, they were very unlikely to do anything. And even if they did actually do anything, he'd protect her. The way he had said it so calmly had made her feel better, but it didn't get rid of the feeling of unease completely. Plus it was far better to avoid trouble in the first place.</p><p>They were heading for the Grand Market in the middle of the city, according to Lucifer, and it was there that she would be able to get more clothes for herself. She protested at first, saying that she was fine with what she had and he didn't have to go through the trouble, but he would have none of it. She did have to admit that having no underwear was a little... embarrassing, and uncomfortable, but only if she thought about it.</p><p>Which she definitely had been for the last half hour while they walked. She kept readjusting the bottom of her cloak, not that it was riding high or anything since the cloak went down to her knees. And between her constant adjustments to her cloak, looking around at the city, and keeping her hair in check, she was very fidgety. Not that Lucifer seemed to mind.</p><p>"We're here," said Lucifer as they rounded yet another corner. There had been so many that she had lost count.</p><p>Kiah had heard the sounds and breathed in the smells of the market well before they reached it, and the anticipation and apprehension had been building because of it, but to finally see it was something else and she stopped in her tracks, causing Lucifer to stop as well because she was still clinging to his sleeve.</p><p>Colors. So very many colors. The multitudes of colors that assaulted her eyes were astounding, and beautiful in a way. Then there was the actual size of the market itself. It spanned the entirety of the main square at the heart of the city. There had to be close to two hundred stalls, maybe more, selling all sorts of things. And food! There was a lot of food. Even though she had just eaten at the inn, the stew hadn't been that flavorful, and from the smell of the foods found here she was sure that she would enjoy the taste of whatever food was available.</p><p>She came to the realization that the food Lucifer had brought for her last night was probably from somewhere in the Grand Market, and she secretly hoped they could get some more. Not that she would ever actually ask for any, especially since they had just eaten. She didn't want to appear needy or anything like that. She didn't want Lucifer to think she would be too much of a burden for him, financially or otherwise, or else he might think to abandon her.</p><p>The thought of it made her extremely anxious and she found herself grabbing Lucifer's arm along with the hem of his sleeve and holding him even tighter than she had before, as if he were going to disappear on her right then and there. It was a terrifying thought, to be lost in this crowd of people alone. The most people she had ever seen in one place.</p><p>He turned and smiled reassuringly at her. "I'm not going anywhere," he reminded her, as if reading her mind, and she shot him a grateful look.</p><p>"It's still early in the morning, so it's not as crowded," he told her, "So we should get done with our business before it gets <em>really </em>busy. Crowds can be... troublesome."</p><p>"Okay," she said meekly.</p><p>They plunged into the market. There was a low ever-present buzz of conversation that filtered through the market, along with the occasional laughter or shouting. The sights, sounds, and smells were all quite overwhelming now that she was in the midst of it all and Kiah was glad she was keeping a hold of Lucifer because she felt like she might have gotten lost otherwise.</p><p>Lucifer spoke to a few of the merchants, who pointed them to a certain section of the market that was apparently more focused on women's clothing. It took them about ten minutes to make their way through the somewhat narrow passages between stalls – some of them looked more like huge tents than "stalls" – with Lucifer stopping at a few to take a look at some of the items being sold. He pointed out a few bits and trinkets to her that looked interesting as they walked, but she didn't say much, though she did take it all in.</p><p>She tried to ignore the curious glances cast her way by some of the people. Their attention to her made her anxious.</p><p>When they reached a row of stalls that were selling all manner of clothing for women, from dresses and shoes to cloaks and most importantly underwear, he turned to Kiah and told her to get what she needed. He would wait for her out in the passageway.</p><p>She stared at him. She had thought that he might pick stuff out for her and that would be that, but to actually have a choice in what she would wear was surprising. "I... get to choose?"</p><p>It was his turn to stare at her, an amused expression crossing his face briefly. "Of course. I'm not going to tell you what to wear," he said matter-of-factly, and then shrugged, "Besides, I have no idea about women's fashion or anything so even if you told me to choose, I'd probably pick something ugly or not your style."</p><p>"But... I don't know either," she replied with a frown. The problem with being given the choice was that she didn't know what to choose at all. She had never gone shopping before, and any clothing she had ever had was something someone else had given her. Whether it was clothes the other elves had made for her or clothes that her masters had made her wear, the fact remained that someone had done the choosing for her and she simply wore it without complaint.</p><p>Lucifer sighed. "I suppose that's a problem. Thankfully, the solution is simple enough. We ask for professional help."</p><p>He walked into the nearest stall, one of those that was more like a big tent, a wide tarp of various blues, greens, and yellows covered the space. Wooden racks full of dresses, shirts, and pants packed the square space underneath the tarp, along with plenty of other items of clothing.</p><p>In the middle of it all was a small wooden desk, behind which sat an older woman with brown hair and a purple dress with black designs and highlights. Standing next to her was a young blonde woman in a simple frilly white dress. They appeared to be the vendors, and Lucifer approached them with Kiah following close behind.</p><p>It was the older lady with brown hair tied up into a bun who spoke first. Her brown eyes so dark to be almost black seemed to size them up, and her gaze stayed on Kiah for a few heartbeats longer than it had on Lucifer. The elf fidgeted under her gaze.</p><p>"Good morning, sir and madam!" the woman greeted enthusiastically, probably happy to have someone enter her sizable stall. It had been empty when they arrived. "Welcome to Vela's Vixen Vestments, I'm Vela. This is my assistant, Lana. What can we help you with today?"</p><p>"It's a fine morning indeed to see such lovely <em>vixens</em> as yourselves," Lucifer said, inclining his head and flashing them a winning smile as he leaned casually on the desk with his elbow.</p><p>Kiah was surprised at his suddenly flirtatious behavior, and she wasn't sure what to think of it.</p><p>Both women blushed visibly. The blonde giggled and clasped her hands cutely in front of her, returning Lucifer's smile with one of her own, and the brunette held a hand up to her mouth and looked coy while she batted her eyelashes at him.</p><p>"Oh my," said Vela, "This one's got quite the silver tongue on him, doesn't he? You're a lucky woman, dear." She glanced over at Kiah with playful envy.</p><p>The elf's cheeks went red for what seemed like the hundredth time that day. "W-We're not..." she tried to say, but thankfully, Lucifer spoke and diverted their attention back to himself. Kiah kept quiet and busied herself with looking at the various clothes on sale next to her.</p><p>"Are all these made by you?" he asked curiously, his gaze sweeping across the rows of clothes.</p><p>Vela nodded. "Most of them. Some were made by a few of my business partners, others by Lana here," she gestured to the blonde, who smiled at him again. "But the majority of it is the product of my own hands."</p><p>"Excellent. Kiah here would like some help picking out some new clothes. And..." Lucifer faltered momentarily then pushed on, "Some underwear." His smile returned, reduced by a fraction.</p><p>The brunette smirked, one eyebrow raised as she glanced between the two mischievously. "We'd be happy to help, sir," Vela finally replied after a beat.</p><p>"I do have a budget," Lucifer said quickly, "For now, at least. I want to see what you come up with whatever I can get for this," he placed a pouch of money on the counter. It didn't sound all too heavy, and Vela's frown seemed to indicate that she had noticed. Lucifer continued undeterred, "If we're satisfied with what you've picked out for her, given this amount, I promise to return and spend a whole lot more. Perhaps I might even commission you to do some custom orders."</p><p>Kiah's head whipped around to look at him, not that he could see since she was behind him. She didn't know if he was being serious or not, but if he was, then that meant he was for whatever reason promising to buy her more things from this place in the future. Unless... there were other women in his life, which was entirely possible. Yes, that was probably it. He probably meant that he would purchase those for other women, not her. He wouldn't buy her more than she needed, that would be absurd, she thought. They had only just met after all, and she wasn't all that important to him surely.</p><p>She realized then how little she knew of him.</p><p>"Is that so?" Vela asked skeptically, sizing him up again. Her fingers tapped the wooden desk between them.</p><p>"Indeed. I can promise that much, on my word as Lord Lucifer Morningstar." He stood straight, golden eyes unwavering as they stared right back at Vela.</p><p>There was a long stretch of silence in which Kiah grew uncomfortable. She hoped there would be no trouble on her behalf.</p><p>"Very well, lord," the vendor finally said evenly as she swiped the rather small pouch of coins that he had put down, feeling its weight in her hand. There was a twinkle of excitement in her eye. "I accept the challenge."</p><p>"Good," said the golden-eyed man, sounding pleased. "Now, I do have some other errands to run. I trust you will take the utmost care of Kiah until I return?"</p><p>"But-" Kiah started to say, worry washing over her like a flood that threatened to drown her.</p><p>"Of course, lord," Vela assured him. "We will take very good care of her. And when you come back for her, I'm certain you'll be wanting to return here for more."</p><p>"We shall see," Lucifer said unimpressed. He turned on his heel and went up to Kiah, who was looking very much like she was going to break down in the middle of the place. And in fact, she was definitely feeling that way as terror gripped her that he might be abandoning her here with these strangers.</p><p>"You're... leaving... me...?" she said, sniffling and choking back sudden tears. She didn't know why she was abruptly crying. How did she get so attached so quickly? Here she was thinking about trying not to be too needy, and now she was being so incredibly needy. But she couldn't help it. Somehow the thought of him abandoning her was too much to bear. He had saved her, the one human to have shown her kindness and compassion, to have treated her as something more than property or a tool, and to be rejected by him would be worse than him not ever having saved her in the first place.</p><p>His face was unreadable as he stood in front of her, and she braced herself for whatever harsh words he might have to say, but then he reached out and pulled her into a hug. It felt really good. And she found herself relaxing in his embrace as he stroked her hair, though carefully so as not to expose her ears, and she sobbed into his chest.</p><p>"I promise I'll be back, Kiah. Don't worry so much. Didn't I come back every time I went out yesterday?" he said quietly so that only she could hear.</p><p>She nodded, her tears dampening his white robe.</p><p>"I just have to take care of a few things, Kiah. I promise to be back soon. In the meantime, these lovely ladies will help you get what you need. You'll be safe with them, trust me. You do trust me, right?"</p><p>She nodded again, though she still clung to him tightly, and he made no move to push her away.</p><p>"Is everything alright, Lord Morningstar?" asked Vela carefully from somewhere behind Lucifer.</p><p>"Yes. Everything's fine," he said calmly, "She's just not used to being on her own in public."</p><p>"Aw... how precious," said Vela's assistant, Lana. "We'll take good care of you, Kiah. Don't you worry about a thing!"</p><p>Lucifer finally made to pull away and Kiah reluctantly let him go. He smiled at her and then winked. "See you soon." And with one last look at Vela and Lana, conveying that they better take care of her <em>or else</em>, he walked out into the rest of the market.</p><p>Kiah held her hands together and shifted uneasily as the two other women came up to her.</p><p>"We've got our work cut out for us," said Vela as she looked the still sniffling timid raven haired girl up and down. "Lana, get the measuring tape. Let's get started."</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>xxXxx</b>
</p><p> </p><p>Lucifer worked his way through the morning crowd at the market, walking with a purpose. Soon he found himself among some food stalls that he recognized from yesterday and he purchased a few items with the little remaining coin that he had – after this purchase, he was down to his last two silver coins and twelve coppers.</p><p>When he thought nobody was looking, he quickly placed his purchases and the coin purse into his dimensional inventory for safekeeping, grateful that he had such a thing. It was so very convenient.</p><p>With that little errand out of the way, he now focused on the big task at hand. He walked back towards the north end of the market and then left the market altogether, passing by the castle and weaving left and right through a few streets until he was somewhere between the market and the Guild Hall. There weren't too many people about in this area at this time of day. And then, when he rounded a corner and saw that nobody was within sight, he vanished using <strong>[</strong>Greater Invisibility<strong>]</strong>.</p><p>He didn't go anywhere afterwards, however. He stepped off to the side and simply waited, arms crossed as he leaned against a building. There was a man following him, and based on how pitifully the stalker tried to hide himself and mask his presence, Lucifer was able to conclude that the man was no real threat to him.</p><p>He didn't wait long as a man in a gray cloak hurriedly turned the corner, took a few quick steps down the street, and then stopped abruptly. He appeared to be slightly out of breath. His head swiveled around as if looking for something, or someone, and then he cursed. Several times.</p><p>When the man turned to walk back the way he came, muttering something to himself, Lucifer calmly walked up to him while still invisible, wrapped an arm around the man's shoulders, and then cancelled his invisibility.</p><p>The man yelped and reflexively tried to jump away, but Lucifer's arm held him tight and kept him from moving anywhere. The man's light brown eyes were wide as saucers as they stared at the golden-eyed man with pure white hair who had seemingly appeared out of nowhere.</p><p>"Let's have a little chat, shall we?" Lucifer said genially.</p><p>The man's breathing began to quicken as the panic started to set in. And then his hand reached for one of the daggers hidden in his cloak.</p><p>"I wouldn't-" Lucifer began to say, but then the man had already brandished the dagger and stabbed him in the gut, only for the dagger to fail to pierce even the white robes that he wore. "-do that. If I were you."</p><p>The man's eyes bulged as he strained to push the dagger pressed against Lucifer's gut, but it simply wouldn't pierce through the thin fabric. "How...?" the man asked weakly.</p><p>"No, no. <em>I'm</em> the one asking questions here, not you." Lucifer admonished, and then sighed as the man pulled the dagger back and tried to stab him again and again. "Really?" Lucifer said in disbelief after the fifth time the man tried to stab him. "It's not going to work no matter how many times you try. You're not strong enough."</p><p>"Th-This... can't b-be... happening..." the man stammered, shaking his head in dismay. Then in desperation he lunged for Lucifer's throat, only for the dagger to once again be turned away as if by some unseen force.</p><p>"Okay, that's enough," snapped Lucifer as he grabbed the blade of the dagger with a firm grip, the sharp edges not cutting him at all, and with a quick twist he broke the man's wrist, since his hand was clasped so tight around the handle, and tore the blade off from the hilt with ease. He casually flung the blade into the nearest stone wall, the metal embedding deep into the stone with a small cloud of dust and web of cracks emanated from where the dagger was now buried.</p><p>"Ahhh!" the man yelled painfully as he gingerly clutched his now broken wrist with his other hand. The hilt of the useless dagger clattered to the ground. "Y-You broke my wrist!"</p><p>Lucifer extracted his arm from around the man's shoulders, spun around, grabbed a fistful of the front of the man's cloak and, seeing that there was still nobody around, said, "<strong>[</strong>Teleportation.<strong>]</strong>" The spell was of the Fifth Tier and allowed for instant travel to and from destinations that the caster was familiar with, or anywhere within line of sight really, though he had not tested its limitations thoroughly yet. Something for another time.</p><p>The two of them disappeared in the blink of an eye, reappearing a little over five thousand feet above the city. The wind gusted loudly, buffeting the man but seemingly not affecting Lucifer as much. The white robes worn by the angel were moving as if it were being gently touched by a simple breeze, and Lucifer appeared to be perfectly at ease despite their surroundings.</p><p>"What the hell?!" cried the man in the gray cloak, bewildered and very much afraid. He was looking frantically around, his hands suddenly scrabbling and grasping at Lucifer's arm for dear life as he became acutely aware that they were now somewhere very high up. He was so scared about the fact that he was hanging in the middle of the air by Lucifer's hand that he barely even registered that Lucifer had giant feathered wings flapping behind him.</p><p>"We're now a few thousand feet over the city of Oldaven," Lucifer informed the man casually. "You know, I've always wanted to interrogate a bad guy like this. I've seen various iterations of it in movies and such. Thanks for giving me my first opportunity to try it out."</p><p>"This isn't real. This isn't real. This isn't real..." the man kept repeating to himself over and over as he shut his eyes tightly.</p><p>"We're going to play a little game, you and I," Lucifer continued, his golden eyes glowing, a menacing smile slowly spreading across his face. The man whimpered. "I'm going to ask you a question, and you're going to answer. If I like your answer, I'll ask another question until I'm out of questions. If I don't like your answer, I drop you. If you answer all my questions and I don't drop you before we're done, well then I guess you get to live. Pretty simple, really."</p><p>"Whoa! Whoa! Whoa! P-Please don't drop me!" he pleaded, tears streaming down his face. "Please! I'll... I'll tell you anything! Anything at all. I'll do anything you want! Name it!"</p><p>Lucifer shook his head, looking disappointed. "Well this isn't as fun if you don't resist. I was hoping you'd resist even little and I'd get to drop you <em>at least</em> once," he frowned, and the man gave him a look that said he thought that Lucifer was crazy.</p><p>Shrugging, Lucifer said, "Alright. Let's see how well you play this game. First question: why are you following me?"</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>xxXxx</b>
</p><p> </p><p>Jircniv opened his eyes. He was now two days removed from the events at the Anoch residence, where he had gained the services of a promising new Imperial Knight and what he hoped was the allegiance of an up and coming noble family. While currently middling in influence and status, the Anochs were on the rise and would hopefully serve him well in the days to come. It also didn't hurt that the other nobles who were at the party were probably both intrigued by his attendance and now at least somewhat interested in earning his favor like the Anoch family after the show he had put on.</p><p>It was still not enough. He needed more allies. More support. Time was so short.</p><p>Sitting up on his bed, fine silk sheets falling off his delicate frame, the young prince looked around at the room that was all his own.</p><p>It was laughably too large for someone of his size, not that he really minded, and even the bed made of rare and exquisitely carved ebony wood could have fit four grown humans comfortably across. Jircniv was most definitely not a grown human. He had years to go before he would be considered such. Physically speaking, at least. Mentally, many would consider him older and wiser than he ought to be, and they would be pretty divided in thinking if that was a good thing or a bad thing.</p><p>With a great big yawn revealing pearly white teeth, he leaned back with his arms up and stretched. He went through the mental checklist of the things he wanted to accomplish that day as he slid out of bed. Half of the day he was sure to spend reading, like he always did. There was so much more he needed to learn about the world, and time was growing short.</p><p>He went into the bathroom and splashed some water on his face. When he emerged, a respectful knock on his door gave him pause for only a second before he called for them to enter. Unsurprisingly, it was Peter, his trustworthy butler.</p><p>"A very good morning to you, your highness," greeted the old servant as he bowed deeply.</p><p>Jircniv simply nodded in reply as he padded over to the ornate wooden dresser made of another dark wood, similar but not exactly to the one that made up his bed. He picked out his clothes for the day, setting them atop the dresser. Most of the time he let Peter decide for him, but today he felt like choosing his own outfit. Once he was finished, he made his way back to the edge of the bed.</p><p>"An excellent choice, your highness," commented the butler, stepping forward and carefully taking the chosen clothes into his gloved hands. He approached the young prince, laid the clothes he had picked out next to him, and gently began to undress him.</p><p>Jircniv blinked, his clear purple eyes looking straight at the butler and yet not quite seeing him, lost in his endless thoughts.</p><p>When he blinked again, the butler had finished and Jircniv was now out of his pajamas and wearing the outfit he had chosen.</p><p>He got to his feet, adjusted his clothes a bit to fit more comfortably, and then walked over to the full length mirror in the corner of his room. He looked himself over once, patting down a few slight folds, and nodded approvingly. "Thank you, Peter," he spoke his first words of the day.</p><p>"Your highness," the butler bowed. "Will you be having breakfast in here or...?" Jircniv could of course eat wherever he wanted, he was the master of the house.</p><p>"In my study, Peter," replied the prince. "And I'm hungry," he added. He really was feeling quite famished, even though he ate a big dinner like he normally did last night. A side effect of thinking too hard for too long, which was most of his waking hours.</p><p>"I shall have a heavy breakfast sent to your study straightaway, your highness. "</p><p>Jircniv walked to the door, where the butler held it open for him, and made his way to his study.</p><p>When the butler appeared at the study some time later, pushing a cart with several trays of food and drink, Jircniv was already deep into a heavy tome on the history of Imperial laws as he sat quietly at his desk. The prince made no move to acknowledge the old servant as he entered and pushed the cart to a halt beside the prince's desk. Standing up straight and placing his hands behind the small of his back, the butler waited quietly for his master.</p><p>Finally, the prince placed a bookmark on the page he was at and shut the book with a light thud. Sliding it off to the side, he leaned back in his chair, and Peter was already on the move as he placed the trays in an organized fashion in front of the prince.</p><p>"Anything to report?" the prince said as he waited for his breakfast to be served.</p><p>"A letter arrived for you, your highness," answered the butler. "Delivered by Felix."</p><p>That got Jircniv's attention. Felix was one of the Imperial Family's falcons and, more importantly, was the one used exclusively by his mother. His eyes fixated on the butler, who had anticipated the reaction of his master and already held out the letter in question, having furnished it out of one of his pockets. The Imperial Family crest was stamped on to the wax seal that held it shut.</p><p>The prince deftly snatched the letter from the old butler's hands and broke open the seal, pulling out the handwritten note contained within. It was his mother's handwriting. He'd recognize it anywhere. His eyes narrowed as he read, face tightening, and he let out a breath. When he was done, he read the letter a second time, eyes hard and calculating.</p><p>"Peter. How soon can we be ready to leave for the capital?" asked the prince, his eyes never leaving the letter in his hands.</p><p>"Will we be staying long, your highness?"</p><p>"No. I doubt it will be for very long. Perhaps only a few days at most."</p><p>"Then I can have everything ready within the hour."</p><p>"Do it. And send word to Nimble at the Anoch Estate to meet us at the capital too."</p><p>The butler bowed and hurriedly, but still respectfully, left the room.</p><p>Jircniv placed the letter on top of the book he had been reading and began to dig into the large spread of food in front of him. He ate quicker and less politely than he normally would, not that there was anyone there to even notice.</p><p>Time was really short indeed.</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>xxXxx</b>
</p><p> </p><p>Kiah was poked, prodded, and measured by the two women, embarrassed and ashamed all the while as they casually remarked on her body as if they didn't think she could hear, or perhaps they thought she'd appreciate what they were saying. She did not. But she quietly endured and cooperated whenever needed so that she could get this all over with.</p><p>Surprisingly, she didn't feel as apprehensive or as angry being alone with these humans as she thought she might be. Whether that was because Lucifer had seemingly trusted them with her, or because they were women and therefore not at all like the terrible and cruel men she had interacted with at the farm, the elf wasn't sure. It probably helped that they did act friendly enough.</p><p>When they were finished, and the elf breathed a sigh of relief for that, Lana was instructed by the older woman to gather a few specific items from their stock that Kiah was supposed to try on and see if she liked. That left Vela with the elf, who fidgeted uncomfortably under the intense gaze of said woman.</p><p>"So. You need underwear, huh?" Vela asked with a mischievous grin.</p><p>Kiah gave her wide-eyed a nod. She didn't like where this was going.</p><p>Vela's grin inched wider. "What happened to your old underwear?"</p><p>Kiah's face was beet red as she shook her head. She didn't trust herself to speak.</p><p>"Something happen to them...?" the older woman trailed off and Kiah did not like what she was insinuating. Vela's grin improbably widened further at the girl's reactions. "Was it <em>him</em>? Did he... destroy your underwear?"</p><p>Kiah spluttered and shook her head vigorously, looking simultaneously aghast and embarrassed. "N-No!" she managed to say rather forcefully. "Th-That's not-"</p><p>"Oh, so you <em>can </em>speak? Come now, dear. You can tell me. I can keep a secret," the woman interrupted Kiah's attempt at explaining her situation, licking her lips, her tone conspiratorial. "I bet he's quite the man in the bed-"</p><p>"Here!" Lana said excitedly, placing a pile of clothes on the desk upon her return from scouring their inventory.</p><p>Kiah thought she was about ready to die from embarrassment and silently thanked the blonde for her timely arrival, though she wished that she had been even faster. Not that it mattered now.</p><p>Vela looked disappointed, her grin disappearing.</p><p>Lana continued to speak, "I've got a few things that'll look great on you. You'll like 'em! I think. Hopefully. Anyway, fitting room's in the back in a privacy tent. You ready to try them on?" Then the blonde blinked as she looked between the two, noting the looks on their faces. "Did something happen?"</p><p>Kiah hurriedly grabbed the pile of clothes the blonde had picked out and made her way towards the fitting room without saying a word. She really hoped Lucifer wouldn't take too long to come back.</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>xxXxx</b>
</p><p> </p><p>Eggert, known affectionately by his friends as "Egg," watched as their target left the inn with that pale black-haired girl in tow. She was quite attractive, and he had found it rather difficult to keep from ogling her earlier. He needed to maintain his cover and try not to get noticed, and he was sure that ogling her was going invite closer scrutiny from his target, the white-haired man that was with her.</p><p>He ate his rather bland meal slowly, though it did fill the hole in his belly, hoping that it would give him some time to converse with the innkeeper. Otto, he thought his name was, though Egg wasn't quite sure despite the fact that he had asked the man for his name earlier that morning. He was pretty bad with names. Well, guy names at least. He remembered the pretty girl's name quite easily from what he had heard. Or at least how it was pronounced. Kee-Ah. Egg didn't know anyone else who had a name like that, so that already made her unique.</p><p>Trying to stay on task, he focused his attention on the innkeeper. His job today was simple: find out as much information as he could about the target, the innkeeper, and the inn. In that order. When he had first walked in, he had decided to talk about the inn with the innkeeper to see if that got him to open up any, asking him some innocuous questions about how long he'd had the inn and if it was still the original building and whatnot.</p><p>That had barely gotten any responses that were more than a handful of words from the grumpy innkeeper, who quite frankly scared the shit out of Egg. The man looked like he could beat him up, eat him, and then spit him out in more ways than there were days in a month. How anyone ever had a proper conversation with the man, Egg didn't know, but he refused to give up.</p><p>Eventually, after what seemed like hours, he did manage to learn that the innkeeper's name was Otto Wyndham, and that he had owned The Rose Moon Inn for almost twenty years now, which was quite long for an establishment like this. Though the age of the place was certainly starting to show now, Egg noted, as he glanced around at its slowly decaying state. It wouldn't be too long before it was too dilapidated to continue operating. Maybe another few years at most.</p><p>He had also learned that the man was working at the inn alone, but the innkeeper wouldn't say why. Something in the way the man reacted to the question made him think that there was a very interesting story behind it. Egg thought it best not to press too much on that though, in case the big guy got upset. He also didn't think it really mattered for his mission, but he did think it was a good bit of information to know that there was only one person on staff here.</p><p>After a while, Egg finished his meal and was drinking some tea while quietly observing Otto serve the few other people who came in. At one point, the big guy came over and asked him if he was going to order anything else, but the way he said it implied that he better order something else if he was planning to continue sitting at the bar. With a nervous smile, and thinking quickly, Egg asked if he could rent a room.</p><p>"Seven coppers a night," the big guy said, sounding like there was no chance for negotiation. "Your meal and drinks cost two coppers."</p><p>It was expensive given the quality of the inn, but Egg furnished the necessary coins quickly. "Great. How many rooms do you have available anyway?"</p><p>"You're in room ten," Otto said as he placed a key on the counter and swept up the offered coins with one of his big hands, ignoring Egg's question.</p><p>"Got it. Thanks, Otto," replied Egg in as friendly a manner as he could.</p><p>The big guy grunted and proceeded to deal with the handful of other customers.</p><p>When he finished his tea, Egg decided to go up and check on his room. He figured he may as well stay the night since he already paid, and he hoped that the captain would reimburse him for the expense. It was purchased in the process of fulfilling his mission after all.</p><p>As he climbed the steps to the second floor, it occurred to him that maybe he could figure out which room was the target's, and if possible even break in. He tried the first door – Room One – and found that it was locked. Glancing around furtively, he furnished a lock picking kit from a pouch hidden underneath his cloak and strapped to his waist. It didn't take him long to open it up, only to find it empty and unused.</p><p>He moved on to the next room diagonally across – Room Five – and repeated the process, getting the same result. He continued down the line until he reached Room Two, and it was in front of that room that he got the strangest sensation that he shouldn't be there. The feeling was strong, telling him that he should keep very far away. Worriedly, he fumbled for the necklace that hung around his neck and glanced at the crude stone pendant. It was glowing.</p><p>That meant there were magic barriers or wards active here. This had to be the target's room. The target was supposedly a magic caster, so it only made sense, and considering that all the other rooms were empty, Egg was willing to bet that the target, that girl, and himself were the only people staying at the inn.</p><p>He stared at the door and frowned. There was no way he was getting in there with a regular set of lock picks, and especially with whatever protective barriers or wards were placed on it. He did have one item that might help though, something given to him by the captain expressly for this purpose.</p><p>Glancing down the L-shaped hallway to make sure he was alone, even though he knew that he was, he reached for one of the daggers on his hip. His skin prickled when he touched it thanks to the magical energy enchanted within the dagger. This was a valuable weapon against magic users because it could dispel any magic barriers or wards up to the Third Tier. Egg didn't even want to think how much the captain had paid for it.</p><p>Taking a breath to steel himself, he readied the dagger and then, ignoring with all his might the very strong urge that washed over him to run away, stabbed the dagger straight into the middle of the door. Immediately he felt resistance as the dagger seemed to catch on something, but it was definitely not the wood of the door. There was a sudden loud crackle of magical energy and bright beams of light flared outward from where the dagger was hitting on <em>something</em> about an inch above the wood.</p><p>Egg's hand shook as the dagger vibrated violently and then to his astonishment promptly disintegrated as he was thrown back forcefully into the wall behind him in a bright burst of energy. The wind knocked out of him, Egg crumpled to the ground and gasped for breath, groaning in pain. That was not what he was expecting to happen and fear slowly crept into him as he processed what had occurred. If the dagger couldn't pierce through whatever protected the door, that meant that whatever was cast on it was magic of at least the Fourth Tier.</p><p>He didn't even think twice about the magic dagger that was now lost forever, so preoccupied was he with the realization of the strength of the man they were targeting.</p><p>There were <em>very</em> few people in the entire Empire who could cast magic higher than the Third Tier. And apparently, the target was one of them. This was bad. This was very, <em>very</em> bad. A magic caster of at least the Fourth Tier was a formidable opponent. He needed to tell the captain immediately. More importantly, he needed to get the hell out of there before the target returned. Egg didn't think the man would take kindly to finding him in front of his door like this.</p><p>Grimacing as he got to his feet, he steadied himself with a hand on the wall. At least he'd be able to warn the captain and the others before they did anything rash. He hoped that Derek wouldn't do anything stupid to get caught while he was tailing the target through the city, and he now felt a little foolish at how he had acted towards his friend earlier.</p><p>Slowly, he moved down the hall and then turned the corner. He froze up, however, when he came face-to-face with the last person in the world he wanted to see right then.</p><p>"Hello, <em>Egg</em>," greeted the man with glowing golden eyes and hair as snowy white as the fine silk robes he wore.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0012"><h2>12. Chapter 12</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Otto Wyndham was once again wiping down the bar of his inn, like he had done for countless days, when a loud almost explosive sound, followed by the distinct thudding of <em>something </em>hitting the floor above him, gave him pause. Faint specks of dust fell from between the heavy wooden beams that spanned the wide ceiling as his gaze drifted upward.</p><p>The big man frowned, the muscles of his face tightening and pulling on his many scars. What in the world was going on up there?</p><p>Early that morning, Otto's gut feeling was telling him that the stranger who had come to sit at his bar at the crack of dawn was going to be trouble, but Otto was no stranger to trouble and figured if anything happened he could handle it no problem. In fact, a small part of him wished there <em>was </em>a little trouble to break up the monotony of his current existence.</p><p>The few customers who wandered in for cheap food and watered-down drink were too often quiet and kept to themselves, and they definitely didn't dare to even think of attempting anything that might upset the muscled innkeeper, who towered over most people.</p><p>The stranger that morning had been no different than the rest of those customers at first, although the innkeeper was halfway curious why the man had come in at such an ungodly hour to most people. He could count on his fingers how many times he'd had a customer come in that early in the past ten years. Then the man proceeded to stay at the bar for hours thereafter, and while he did order a drink every now and again, it seemed more out of obligation for staying so long than an actual desire to drink anything.</p><p>What irked the innkeeper, however, was that the man began to talk more and more as the time passed, asking Otto all sorts of questions that the innkeeper barely answered, if he gave any answer at all. Not that the man seemed to mind, nor did he seem to remember because sometimes he'd ask the same question again. And if Otto hadn't been so desperate for the business, he might've kicked the man out for his excessively annoying chatter.</p><p>Otto was not looking for any friends, and he was not what anyone would describe to be talkative or approachable. Something that the stranger appeared to either miss or ignore, but he was a paying customer and, while overly friendly and chatty, he wasn't doing anything offensive or bad enough to warrant getting kicked out. Not when Otto needed the money for that month's expenses, so he tolerated the stranger as best he could.</p><p>However, as two hours became three, and then four and five, the muscled innkeeper began to feel increasingly suspicious and uneasy about the fellow. He was well aware that his inn was nowhere near the best place in the city to spend time in, and yet the stranger made it seem like he never wanted to leave. In fact, the man had stayed at Otto's bar longer than anyone in recent memory, and his suspicions were further aroused when the man had even asked for a room. A room!</p><p>The Rose Moon Inn had seen far better days, and there was a reason his rooms were mostly empty despite the dirt-cheap prices, and yet the man – who certainly didn't look to be hurting for coins – apparently wanted to stay the night anyway. Not only that, but when Otto clearly charged him more for the room than it should have been worth, the stranger didn't even bat an eye.</p><p>Not that Otto was happy with the inn being in a rather rundown state like this, mind you. He did what he could to keep it going, but there was only so much one man could do on his own with an inn of this size. And ever since...</p><p>He growled and shook his head, forcing himself not to think about the past. That would be of no help to him now. There was definitely some kind of trouble brewing above, and the talkative stranger with curly dark hair who had gone upstairs only moments before was surely at the heart of it. He only hoped the fool hadn't damaged anything too badly, or else Otto would be forced to break a few bones to teach the hooligan a lesson. It had been a while since he'd had to break some bones, and the thought kind of excited him.</p><p>Throwing aside the now dirty rag that he had been using to wipe down the bar, Otto sighed and was about to leave his station for the first time that day when, to his surprise, the golden-eyed man who called himself Lucifer entered the inn with long purposeful strides. His face was expressionless, like it usually was, but his eyes glowed with power and the sight of it made him hesitate.</p><p>"Hello again," said the man clad in white and gold, giving the innkeeper a brief smile that didn't quite reach his golden eyes.</p><p>And Otto was absolutely sure that they were glowing. He couldn't recall them ever being like that the few times he had seen him before, and in the relatively dim light of the main hall, it was hard to miss.</p><p>"Hey," Otto managed to say in reply, his rough voice uncertain as he watched Lucifer stride on by and head up the stairs without another word.</p><p>The man had come and go several times before, but this time his steps were noticeably more urgent. And where was the girl, Kiah? Lucifer had left the inn earlier with that girl he had brought in with him the night they arrived, and from what the innkeeper saw she seemed too attached to him for her to leave his side easily. He hoped nothing bad had happened, and found some comfort in his instincts telling him that she was fine.</p><p>Those same instincts had surprisingly been silent back when the two of them first appeared at his inn, his gut neither telling him to let them stay or to tell them off, and eventually his need for their coin once again outweighed his normally more cautious nature when he agreed to let them stay for a week. But he had taken it as a positive sign that his gut wasn't telling him they'd be trouble, so perhaps, he thought, it would be fine.</p><p>And so far it certainly appeared to be fine. The dark-haired girl looked to be in good health, if somewhat thin, but perhaps she was naturally that way. She had been a bit cold to him when he had spoken to her earlier, some might even say she was rude, but he reasoned that it was because she wasn't comfortable talking to strangers, which was perfectly understandable. Especially strangers with scarred faces and hard eyes like him.</p><p>The way she seemed to take comfort in the presence of the man with perfectly white hair at least meant that he was taking good care of her. And it relieved the innkeeper to know that nothing nefarious was going on between them, at least from what he could tell.</p><p>The girl reminded him of... <em>her</em>. They were about the same age...</p><p>Sighing and willing those sad thoughts away, he remembered what he was doing and resolved to get a move on before those dark thoughts came tumbling out again.</p><p>Following after Lucifer up the stairs, his heavy boots elicited creaking from each step. Checking both ends of the L-shaped hallway on the second floor, and not seeing anyone, not that he was really expecting to, he made his way up the final flight of stairs to the third and highest floor of the inn.</p><p>He needed to have words with the stranger about the commotion he had caused but a few minutes ago. Lumbering over to stand in front of the door to Room Ten, he raised his burly fist and knocked heavily on the wood, the door shaking with a thump each time his knuckles made contact.</p><p>"Open up, stranger. It's Otto, the innkeeper. I need to have words with you," he growled, his tone implying pain if he was not obliged, but there was no reply. Not even the slightest sound of movement came from the other side.</p><p>Feeling uneasy at the silence, the big man pounded against the door once again, a little harder this time. "I said open up! You hear me? What are you doing in there?"</p><p>Quiet stretched on for a few seconds before his patience ran out and he tried the door. Locked. He fumbled for the heavy cast iron ring in his pocket to which were attached more than a dozen keys. He found the one he was looking for, small and thin in his massive fingers, and stuck it into the lock with surprising dexterity, twisting it, and practically flinging the door open as his eyes searched the room beyond for the stranger in question.</p><p>It was empty, and from the thin film of dust everywhere it appeared that the stranger hadn't even stepped inside the room at all.</p><p>Frowning, the innkeeper quickly figured that the stranger must have broken into one of the other rooms, hence the noise earlier. His face darkened. He couldn't fathom for what purpose the man would do such a thing, since there was nothing of much value in the rooms. Unless...</p><p>Lucifer.</p><p>Otto thundered down the steps, an avalanche of muscled meat and dense bone, and onto the second floor where he made it to the other end of the L-shaped hallway in record time, stopping – with his heart beating quickly in his thick chest – in front of the door to Room Two. Lucifer was probably in trouble. Had he been the stranger's target all along?</p><p>Wishing he had his hammer with him, Otto made to knock, but as his thick knuckles reached for the door they never managed to touch the surface of it, stopped by some unseen force about an inch away. He gasped, a shiver running through his musclebound body as an overwhelming feeling to get away from the door washed over him. He felt like he didn't belong here, like he shouldn't be trying to get into this room.</p><p>Was this magic? It had to be, he thought. Suddenly sweating, he took a single shaky step back as he tried to wrestle with this unusual feeling that gripped him and the confusion he felt because of it. And then, before he could get a hold of himself and attempt to break down the door anyway, as swiftly as it had come the feeling disappeared like a stifling blanket that had been thrown onto him had been hastily snatched away. And he could breathe easy again.</p><p>The door swung open unexpectedly, revealing a concerned-looking Lucifer standing in the doorway. "Otto? Is... everything alright?" he asked tentatively.</p><p>Otto was breathing heavily, heart still galloping in his chest, and the big man blinked several times as he tried to still himself. "I..."</p><p>"You don't look so good," Lucifer remarked as he stepped forward, peering at him with narrowed eyes. He carefully placed a concerned hand on Otto's big shoulder.</p><p>"I'm... fine," Otto said, the usual roughness in his voice diminished. His eyes looked past Lucifer into the room beyond and saw that it was empty. "I thought you might be in trouble," he explained.</p><p>Lucifer looked up at him, for even though Lucifer was tall, Otto was taller still by a couple of inches, and said with some amusement breaking through the worry in his voice, "I appreciate your concern, Otto, but as you can see I'm alright. No trouble to be found here. I'm more worried about you."</p><p>The big man nodded, that was obvious enough. He wasn't sure what to make of the situation, but his body still felt rather jittery and his mind was swirling with too many questions. "Did you see anyone else up here?" he asked.</p><p>"I haven't seen or heard anyone at all, other than yourself of course. Is someone else supposed to be here?" Lucifer's brow furrowed and he glanced down the empty hallway.</p><p>Otto was troubled by his answer and was quiet for a spell, mind churning. Something wasn't quite right here. "I should go lie down," he finally said with a little more of his usual gruff.</p><p>Lucifer gave him a faint encouraging smile. "That might be for the best."</p><p>Otto grunted and worked his way back down the hall, eyes attentive to each door that he passed for any signs of them being broken into. But there was nothing out of the ordinary with any of them.</p><p>Where the hell did that stranger go?</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>xxXxx</b>
</p><p> </p><p>From the doorway, Lucifer watched the sturdy innkeeper's retreating form until he turned out of sight around the corner. Closing the door, he took a few seconds to replace the defensive spells he had hastily taken down when the innkeeper had tried to knock on it. Once that was finished, his attention was drawn to the empty space in the middle of the room.</p><p>With a casual flick of his hand, even if the movement was rather unnecessary, he cancelled the [Maximize Magic - Turn Invisible] and [Maximize Magic - Silence] spells that he had thrown on the bound man on the floor who appeared out of thin air. He was lying on his side, back facing the windows, and his breaths came shallowly.</p><p>[Turn Invisible] was a Second Tier spell that you could cast to temporarily turn the target invisible for a short period of time. The length of the invisibility depended on the power of the caster, so the higher the caster's level and thus magic strength, the longer the invisibility would hold. The duration ranged anywhere from ten seconds to three minutes.</p><p>This spell was useful for when someone in your party didn't have any spell or item that could turn themselves invisible, and since [Invisibility] – also a Second Tier Spell, which was far more potent – and its higher forms could only work on the caster, this was a very useful spell to have in a party. The drawback of [Turn Invisible] was that the threshold for detection was slightly lower than regular [Invisibility], and the duration wasn't as long, even though they were of the same tier.</p><p>[Silence], as the name suggested, was a spell that didn't allow any sound to be made within a specific area. Lucifer hadn't been sure how long the innkeeper might stick around when he had come by, so he had added the metamagic modifier 'Maximize' to both spells to increase their power and therefore their length of effect.</p><p>Egg, unable to speak or move anyway thanks to being bound and gagged by magical bindings, could only watch with terror as the magic caster with golden eyes smiled at him.</p><p>"Now, where were we?" said Lucifer as he paced around the small room looking thoughtful, and Egg's eyes struggled to keep him in view as he moved. "Ah yes. As I was saying, before we were interrupted, your <em>friend </em>Derek – I think that was his name – told me everything! About who you both are and why you're here and who sent you. He was most cooperative. Wouldn't shut up, really, though I suppose dangling thousands of feet in the air had something to do with it."</p><p>Egg's mouth went dry.</p><p>"In the end, it wasn't as much fun as I was hoping for," Lucifer lamented, "And once it was clear he had exhausted all the useful information he could give me, I did let him go. After telling him to leave town and never come back, of course. Oh, and extracting a hefty... <em>payment</em> for my valuable time."</p><p>Lucifer grinned at the thought of the coins he had added to his coffers from Derek, the terrified man who had practically thrown his pouch of coins at him before fleeing. It hadn't been all that much, a few silvers and coppers, but it was still something to add to his meager supply of money.</p><p>Egg continued to eye him fearfully, sweating now as if he were in a sauna. There wasn't much else he could do.</p><p>"So you see, now that he's told me everything I need to know about you and your masters," Lucifer continued, hands clasped behind his back, "I find myself in the unusual position of having captured you and not knowing quite what to do with you." He stopped moving around and was now standing behind Eggert, who could only see the man's shadow cast over him as the light of the midday sun filtered in through the window slats.</p><p>Egg squirmed against his bindings and tried to say something, but all that escaped from around the gag were muffled sounds that were unsurprisingly incomprehensible.</p><p>Lucifer was quite enjoying the dramatic tension he was building. After all those years of role-playing games, and in particular YGGDRASIL, he now felt so in-character that he wasn't even sure anymore if he was even pretending. It almost felt like this was who he really was all along.</p><p>He was Lucifer Morningstar, and the man lying on the floor of his room was an enemy. A meager pawn perhaps, but an enemy nonetheless. One who tried to infiltrate his home – small as the room was, he considered it his own, at least for now – and one who was in league with the people who treated Kiah so very badly before he came along and freed her. Some measure of punishment was surely called for, and he wasn't going to pass up the chance to impose it.</p><p>An idea formulating in his mind, one that he thought would allow him to accomplish several things at once, Lucifer grinned deviously. "So here's what I'm thinking," he spoke up again, "I'll give you exactly <em>one</em> minute to think about what value you can possibly offer in exchange for your pathetic life. Does that sound like a plan?"</p><p>Egg struggled against his bindings again, and just like the other guy who Lucifer had dangled thousands of feet in the air, the man started to whimper.</p><p>"I'm glad you agree," Lucifer said humorously. He stepped over the bound man and turned around to face him. He had thought about summoning another angel, there were several who were surely up to the task, but figured he'd try to summon something else this time. Something a little more... down-to-earth.</p><p>"[Summon Beast - Second Tier: Black Mamba]."</p><p>A glowing magic circle formed in the space around him and seconds later the coiled up forms of <em>ten</em> dark gray snakes materialized into existence on the floor around Lucifer, each one of them about fourteen feet in length. There were five to each side, and they all reared their heads up, showing that their bellies were a lighter shade of gray than the rest of their bodies.</p><p>The snakes hissed almost in unison, tongues flicking out as they trained their coal black eyes on the one who had summoned them forth.</p><p>Whoa. He had never actually seen a real live snake before. Well, not outside of a zoo at least. And now there were ten of them at his feet! They were thinner than he expected, but certainly long enough. He found it interesting that he wasn't afraid of them at all despite their close proximity and the fact that he actually knew how deadly their venom was.</p><p>Perhaps he didn't fear them because he knew they were his summoned creatures and would never think to harm him, or maybe it was simply because he knew even if they did strike at him that it would be futile on their part. They were far too weak to get past his defenses. He estimated their level to be around only three at best.</p><p>Lucifer was not going to kill the man, he decided. Not when he was unarmed and helplessly bound like this. Instead, he was going to punish him by torturing his mind, and maybe his body a bit too. Make him feel true terror and despair and regret for his misdeeds in life. Then maybe he'd let one of the snakes bite him for good measure, healing him before he died. That would probably be a good enough punishment, and hopefully teach the man a lesson he'd never forget.</p><p>"These," Lucifer waved a hand lazily at the assembled reptiles, "Are Black Mambas. Poisonous snakes. I'm not sure if you've ever heard of them, or if you even have these here, but their venom is one of the deadliest among snakes of my world. It's said that one bite can kill an adult human in as little as twenty minutes. I wonder how long it would take for ten bites to do the trick."</p><p>Egg had gone completely still, as if hoping he might turn invisible again if he did.</p><p>To be honest, Lucifer had wanted to summon something larger, like a Direwolf or a Giant Spider, but due to the limited space he was working with he figured he'd do something small enough to fit comfortably. And snakes were pretty good at scaring the shit out of someone too, so they fit the bill nicely.</p><p>"You're probably wondering, why are they called Black Mambas when their scales are actually gray?" Lucifer said, taking on the tone of a professor giving a class lecture.</p><p>Lucifer could feel the mental connection between him and the snakes brought on by the summoning, and even though there were ten of them their connections weren't overwhelming to him at all. Their consciousnesses slithered, which was rather appropriate, at the edge of his own.</p><p>"While their scales are indeed gray," Lucifer admitted, "The insides of their mouths, however, are black little maws of darkness. See for yourself."</p><p>He sent out a mental command to all the snakes to bare their fangs at the man, and they all proceeded to hiss and open their jaws to reveal the black insides of their mouths that Lucifer had described. Each one had a pair of sharp fangs, ready to inject their vicious venom into any who were unfortunate enough to get bitten.</p><p>Egg didn't seem to appreciate that display, and a dark blotch around the man's groin spread across his pants. Liquid pooled on the floor beneath his waist as the pungent odor of a grown man's piss filled the air.</p><p>Lucifer wrinkled his nose and gave the man a look of disgust, but he probably should've expected something like this to happen. He <em>was </em>trying to scare the man after all. On the bright side, he was just glad that Egg wasn't actually shitting himself, and he begrudgingly gave him a minor amount of credit for holding that part of him in at least. He tried to ignore the piss for now, knowing that he'd have to deal with it later before Kiah returned.</p><p>It wouldn't do to have another man's piss on the floor and stinking up the room.</p><p>Bending down, Lucifer reached out to the closest Black Mamba on his left, and the snake moved its head closer to his hand. He gently rubbed the underside of the snake's head with a finger, and it flicked its tongue appreciatively. He could sense that this one felt pleased by his affections.</p><p>Smiling at the snake in amusement, he mentally ordered the nine others to make themselves comfortable on top of the captive enemy, but with strict orders <em>not </em>to bite him unless he said so.</p><p>The summoned snakes obeyed immediately, slithering the short distance to where Egg was now whimpering again, and when they were on him in a writhing mass of dark gray scales and flitting forked tongues, Egg screamed into his gag until his face turned red. It took him another few seconds to stop screaming as he realized the snakes weren't going anywhere, nor were they biting him.</p><p>"I do believe your minute is up," said Lucifer as he plopped himself down on the floor in front of Egg and crossed his legs. The snake he had been petting moved to curl in his lap, turning its head to face Egg. It flicked its tongue at him and Lucifer dispelled the gag he had placed on the man.</p><p>"P-Please..." Egg blubbered immediately.</p><p>"So? Do you have anything of value for me? Or should I just kill you and be done with it? Eggs <em>are</em> part of a snake's diet, you know."</p><p>"N-No!" Egg shook his head, eliciting a threatening hiss from a snake that had been partially resting on it. He whimpered and remained as still as he could after that.</p><p>"No you don't have anything of value for me?" inquired Lucifer dangerously, raising his eyebrows at the man.</p><p>"No! I m-mean yes! I h-have something. I can t-tell you something that Derek didn't know about our masters! I'm sure of it!"</p><p>"I'm listening."</p><p>"W-Well..." the man was suddenly hesitant, as if only now trying to think of what he could say to appease him.</p><p>At Lucifer's order, two of the snakes lunged forward, jaws opened incredibly wide and fangs bared as they sunk deep into either side of the man's exposed neck. The man recoiled a little, bound as he still was, and cried out in pain at the sting of the bite as some of the venom was injected straight into his carotid arteries. Blood started to trickle out from the puncture wounds as the snakes detached themselves.</p><p>Egg's eyes stared at him in shock.</p><p>"Perhaps this will be enough incentive to speed things along, I haven't got all day," Lucifer explained with hard eyes. "I can heal you of the venom that's now spreading rapidly through your body, but only if what you say is of some value to me. And just so you know, you probably won't last more than a few minutes before you pass out, and if that happens, well... I strongly suggest that you start speaking very quickly very soon."</p><p>Egg didn't have to be told twice. "L-Lord Rubeon! My master... He's... He's part of this cult. A dark cult! Involving death and... and necromancy. And... And d-dark magic! He's dangerous!" Egg revealed, sounding desperate to be believed.</p><p>"Is that so?" Lucifer asked, his lips pursed into a thin line. The other guy definitely didn't say anything about that, though this seemed a bit far-fetched.</p><p>"It's true! I swear on m-my life! They... They have meetings sometimes. Some other nobles. Other people I don't recognize who... weren't nobles, I think. They always give off a... bad vibe. They would come and stay late into the night too. I... I don't really know when they meet, but it's definitely on the grounds of Lord Rubeon's estate," the man continued, feeling a surge of hope that perhaps he would be spared, thinking that surely this was something worth his life.</p><p>"You've seen this firsthand? Their meetings and rituals?"</p><p>Egg blanched. "No..." he admitted nervously, but then he perked up a little, "But sometimes... sometimes the slaves would disappear. And never return... and we thought maybe they just ran away or were sold off... but... when that happens, we usually have to chase after them. Bring them back, you know? And yet some slaves we're not told to find at all, and we carry on as if they never existed in the first place... then there was one night some months back when I saw them bring some slaves to a house at the edge of the estate. And I never saw them again!"</p><p>Lucifer was silent as he considered this new information. While he thought it highly unlikely there was some kind of cult of necromancy or something creeping around, it wasn't impossible. What he figured more likely was that those women were being sent off elsewhere and this guy simply wasn't high enough on the totem pole to know any more about it.</p><p>Still, if what he said was indeed true, it was probably a good idea to find out more about people who wielded dark magic in this new world. What their powers and limitations were. And it was also prudent to know more about shadowy cults and organizations that could be dangerous to him.</p><p>"You have to believe me! Please... I... I don't want to die... I don't want to die..." the man sobbed.</p><p>"That is... interesting information," Lucifer conceded.</p><p>Egg breathed with relief, though it was only short-lived.</p><p>"But is that all you have?" Lucifer asked.</p><p>Egg, keenly aware of how little time he had left, abruptly began to spout more information about things Lucifer already knew from the other guy, such as how many men were serving under their Lord's banner and the locations of his Lord's properties, or things he didn't know but were useless to him, such as what kinds of tea people drank at the estate and the fact that Egg had actually gotten a room here at the inn.</p><p>Okay, he had to admit that last bit wasn't quite useless since the knowledge of it meant that Lucifer could just dump the guy in his room instead of some random alleyway like he had originally planned to do after he was done with him here. But the rest of it, to Lucifer, who listened attentively all the same, was nothing else noteworthy. He said nothing when Egg's word vomit of information came to an end.</p><p>It didn't take long after that before Egg's breaths became exceedingly quick and short. He appeared to be having great difficulty breathing. His eyes were moving around in panic as he realized the venom was really taking hold. Nostrils flaring, body straining against his bindings, he tried to talk but found that he couldn't form anything more than meaningless noises. He started to cough, looking pleadingly at Lucifer. His jaw muscles started to spasm.</p><p>"When you wake, you'll find yourself in your room," Lucifer told him as the man's grip on consciousness started slipping away, "Listen carefully. I expect you to be a good Egg from now on, and to move away from the Empire. I don't care where you go as long as it's not here. If I see you again somewhere in Baharuth after today, or if I find out you're still a bad Egg somewhere, <em>I will end you</em>. You will not get a second chance. Oh, and I'll be taking most of the coin on you as payment for my efforts. Call it a... <em>survival tax</em>."</p><p>Egg's slightly puffy eyes rolled into the back of his head as he passed out shortly after Lucifer finished speaking. He began to convulse and choke as the muscles in his throat and lungs began to swell a little, spasm, and freeze up. His mouth began to foam, tongue lolling half out of his mouth. He was probably going to go into respiratory failure and then cardiac arrest in another few minutes.</p><p>Lucifer was also pretty sure the man was about to piss himself again, or worse, and decided to intervene before that happened. It wouldn't do to have the room smelling like shit. He hoped that Egg would remember at least most of his words when he woke up. It would be annoying to actually have to kill him after going through all this trouble to let him live.</p><p>The snake on Lucifer's lap hissed in surprise as it was dropped unceremoniously to the floor when he speedily returned to his feet and cast [Heal] on the man. The effects were instantaneous as the green glow of magic washed over Egg's unconscious form and he began to breathe easier, clearly no longer in any immediate danger of dying.</p><p>Reaching down to once again pet the upraised head of the snake that had been on his lap, and receiving a hiss and what he thought was an affectionate lick from the scaly reptile, he cancelled the summon and watched them all fade away into nothingness. Taking note that regular creatures apparently disappeared as they should when he cancelled the summoning spell, Lucifer wondered why Bezaliel had stayed before.</p><p>Was it because the angel was a divine being? Or was it something else?</p><p>Shelving that mystery for later, he fished out the man's key to Room Ten from one of his pockets and then went upstairs. Once inside the dusty confines of Room Ten, he teleported back and forth to bring the unconscious man over, throwing him roughly onto the bed and kicking up a cloud of dust from his efforts. Checking the man's pockets for valuables, Lucifer kept about ninety percent of the coins he found. Finding nothing else worthwhile, he stepped back and equipped his fur-trimmed dark adamantite armor.</p><p>Lucifer glanced one last time at the passed out, dust-covered Egg, feeling no regret whatsoever about what he had put the man through, and wondering if that was a good or bad thing, before teleporting himself back to his room to clean up the mess the man had made on the floor. A few created rags, some water, and an [Item Restoration] later – he was surprised to learn it worked on the floor boards – and he had scrubbed out.</p><p>There might have been an easier way to do it, but he hadn't thought of it. After pulling up the shades and opening one of the windows just a crack to let in some fresh air, he was off with another quick teleport to that same secluded spot near the Grand Market that he had been to before. He had an adventurer plate to retrieve and a job to sign up for, but first he needed to pick up a probably worried elf at the market.</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>xxXxx</b>
</p><p> </p><p>The two women looked over their charge, after having spent several hours now dressing her in all manner of clothes like she was some life-sized doll. They had even fixed up her hair, which they thought was rather pretty, and it now fell straight like a dark waterfall onto her shoulders, where it pooled and cascaded down her back.</p><p><em>That</em> had been a challenge, and a big surprise. They had to practically chase the girl down as she repeatedly refused that they touch her hair at all, despite their assurances that they were only trying to help her and that they weren't trying to do anything bad to it.</p><p>If she hadn't been so thin, Kiah might've been strong enough to escape Vela's grasp once she did manage to get a hold of the girl. And that was when they finally discovered why she had been acting that way. From all the commotion, Kiah's ears finally revealed themselves, and the elf girl quickly hid herself under one of the bigger racks of clothes, covering her ears up and seemingly folding in on herself on the floor.</p><p>She had cried and begged them not to hurt her, and the two women could only share sad looks as they spent the better part of an hour talking to the poor girl and coaxing her back out. When she finally did calm down and came out of where she had been hiding, and they proved to her that they weren't going to hurt her or treat her any different than they already had, both Vela and Lana asked her several questions that, while uncomfortable, they needed to know.</p><p>Questions such as if Lucifer was her master and if he had been abusing her or treating her poorly in any way, something that the elf vehemently denied. Apparently, he had actually saved her from such a life, and that had relieved both Vela and Lana to know.</p><p>They took things a little slower after that, and they seemed to be even more willing to spend their time and effort getting her the best outfits that suited her. And though Kiah continued to barely speak, she seemed to at least be a little more comfortable in their presence. That was significant progress considering how everything had started off, and how the elf was certainly holding a deep mistrust and fear of humans. Something that was unlikely to be shaken off so easily.</p><p>"Yes," Vela said approvingly, sweeping a critical gaze over the elf, "I think this will do nicely."</p><p>"I agree. Lord Morningstar will be quite pleased with this outfit," Lana added.</p><p>Vela grinned. "Yes, I suppose that does matter somewhat, but more importantly, what do <em>you </em>think, Kiah?"</p><p>Kiah looked at herself in the full-length mirror and could scarcely believe that the reflection was truly of her. She was wearing a simple white form-hugging dress that puffed out more below her waist. The dress went to a little below her knees and had long sleeves of white lace that showed some of her pale skin beneath the intricate flowery designs, giving her an almost elegant, ethereal look befitting an elf.</p><p>Over the dress was a leather corset dyed a royal blue with a pattern of thin gold stripes running vertically. A leather strap of similar blue rounded over each delicate shoulder and attached to the top corners of the corset on either side, making it look almost like a brassiere - except the corset didn't go over her breasts, covered as they were by the white dress.</p><p>And of course, on her feet, were the dark brown boots that Lucifer had given her. They were nice enough, fitting her perfectly, and she was adamant about not taking them off despite the suggestion of the two women to try on some other footwear.</p><p>"I like it," Kiah admitted, with the barest of smiles and continuing to admire herself in the mirror.</p><p>Lana placed the other outfits they had decided she would bring back with her into paper bags for easier transport. The blonde girl looked tired, their efforts that morning having taken both a physical and unexpectedly emotional toll.</p><p>Vela was about to voice her concern about whether Lucifer was returning or not, and a part of her had dark thoughts that there was a chance the noble had decided to drop the girl on them and leave her, when a knight she didn't recognize arrived clad in full adamantite plate armor the color of obsidian and trimmed with plush dark fur.</p><p>He strode in with purpose and Vela greeted him pleasantly, especially since he had come in wearing armor that cost far more gold than her entire inventory. The knight had ignored her though, much to her chagrin, and she was about to speak up again in case he had somehow simply not heard her when the knight broke his silence.</p><p>"Wow," he said in genuine admiration as he stared at Kiah, who was looking shyly at the floor, hands clasped behind her as if she wanted him to see how it looked.</p><p>Vela realized who it was almost immediately, and couldn't hide the widening of her eyes or the loosening of her jaw as she took a closer look at the armor. It was genuine adamantite, and it had to be enchanted given the dye alone was only possible through magic. It was blacker than night and seemed to reflect only the barest of light at any angle.</p><p>"Lord Morningstar," she finally addressed him properly, and Lana sucked in a sharp breath. Apparently the young girl hadn't come to the same realization until the older woman revealed it. "I am pleased to present to you, Kiah, the elf."</p><p>Lucifer's head whipped around to Vela and though she couldn't really see his face, she imagined a look of surprise had crossed his well-sculpted features. She saw the faint light of golden orbs through the eye slit of his helm, then his gaze drifted back over to the elf who had crept closer to him.</p><p>"How do I look?" asked Kiah a bit nervously.</p><p>Lucifer's reply was quick and honest. "You look wonderful. Truly."</p><p>The edges of Kiah's lips turned upward and she perked up the tiniest fraction, but for the two women who had spent the last few hours observing her form, it was easy enough to spot.</p><p>Vela and Lana shared a happy look, one that said they had done a good job. A slow smile spreading across Vela's full lips, she asked Lucifer a bit cheekily, "When should we expect you to return, Lord?"</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>xxXxx</b>
</p><p> </p><p>A quiet chatter filled the air of the Guild Hall, populated as it was by only a scant few adventurers at this hour. A far cry from the boisterous crowd when previously Lucifer had been there. The angel reckoned it was because many of the adventurers were currently either out to lunch, since it was only a short time past noon, or were actually out on jobs. If it was the latter, he hoped there were still some jobs left for him to take on, and he briefly considered what the Guild could do to help any adventurers who couldn't find jobs.</p><p>A quick glance at the various job boards as he walked further in gave him some measure of relief as there appeared to still be plenty of postings available.</p><p>Kiah, as she had done most of the day, stuck close by him and held on to the sleeve of his robe where she could find it between his armor. Her wide eyes roamed freely, taking in the sight of the spacious interior of the main hall. She said nothing as they walked further in, but Lucifer could tell she had some questions.</p><p>"Kiah, if you wish to know something, just ask," he said, "I might not know the answer myself, but I can find out for you."</p><p>The elf merely nodded and continued to stay silent, glancing nervously at the armed strangers who were still around, few as they were.</p><p>He couldn't believe how much better she looked in proper attire, and couldn't wait to see what her other outfits – currently stored in his handy dandy dimensional inventory – looked like. He also noted that she seemed fractionally happier after leaving the store. Meanwhile, he had been pleasantly surprised that the two women merchants knew that she was an elf, and had treated her well in spite of that knowledge.</p><p>Like any society, there were those who were the worst of people when interacting with other races, like Kiah's former masters, and there were those who treated them no different than any other, like Vela and Lana. He was definitely pleased with that and, since they rose to the challenge, promised to come back to give them more business.</p><p>Lucifer approached the nearest available receptionist, noting that even their number was reduced compared to before, and thought that perhaps his theory of lunch time was even more probable now. He greeted the brunette woman with a flash of pearly white teeth, and received a smile in return, as well as an appraising look as the woman seemed to be admiring his armor.</p><p>"Good afternoon, sir, miss," the woman dipped her head, managing to beat Lucifer by a half-second.</p><p>"Good day," he said in return, "I'm here to pick up my adventurer plate. I was told it should be ready by now."</p><p>"Oh, fantastic! May I please know your names, sir?"</p><p>"I am Lucifer Morningstar," he introduced himself, then gestured to Kiah who was standing behind his left shoulder, "And this is my... assistant, Kiah." He realized he didn't really know how to introduce her to anyone and hoped that assistant would suffice.</p><p>The elf didn't seem to mind, keeping silent, and the receptionist gave her only a cursory glance when it appeared she was not an adventurer like himself.</p><p>"Well, sir, if you would please wait a moment I'll go and check on the status of your registration." With a slight bow, she turned and exited through a door behind her into what was likely some back offices where all the administrative paperwork and whatnot was handled.</p><p>Looking towards the nearest job board and feeling a sense of déjà vu, Lucifer motioned with his head towards it to Kiah, hoping to actually take a look at some of the jobs this time now that there weren't any big parties of adventurers in front of it that could distract him.</p><p>Thinking of River and her team reminded him that he still needed to check in with them before they left on their next job. He wondered what they were up to later.</p><p>Some of the postings looked fairly old, and a few were even covered by several newer requests. Lucifer noted that the board he was looking at contained jobs for Silver and Gold ranked adventurers, and judging from the descriptions of them, he was not looking forward to what the Copper ranked jobs were going to be like.</p><p>These jobs at least dealt with wraiths, an army of ghouls, packs of barghests, and trolls, among other things. There were more than a few escort or guard type jobs available as well in supposedly dangerous areas. A few harvesting and retrieval jobs. Pretty standard stuff for any veteran gamer. Nothing too exciting stuck out to him though, but he was certain the Copper plate jobs were far more boring than this so he wasn't about to complain. Not yet at least.</p><p>Oh well. Hadn't he said to Ria that he understood that everyone had to pay their dues? Hopefully he didn't have to pay his for long though. Maybe a couple of Copper jobs at most before he got promoted to bigger and better things. He wasn't sure if he could take such boring jobs for too long.</p><p>"Do you know anything about these monsters?" Lucifer asked the elf.</p><p>"Um... no," she replied hesitantly, apparently surprised she had been asked anything at all.</p><p>It was worth a try, he thought. Perhaps where Kiah was from there weren't any monsters to worry about.</p><p>"The only monsters I know... are humans." Her voice was really quiet when she said it, but Lucifer heard it well enough, and it made him stiffen up a bit.</p><p>Oh. He supposed that was to be expected, but he didn't know what to say to that and was attempting to formulate some kind of response when the receptionist saved him by calling out his name rather loudly.</p><p>"Lord Morningstar, sir?" There was an eagerness to her voice that wasn't there before, and a lot more respect in her tone. Not that she was disrespectful before. His file probably listed him as a noble lord, something Ria had probably included in her report, and the receptionist was treating him as such.</p><p>Giving Kiah a sidelong glance as he made his way over with her in tow, Lucifer sighed inwardly as he returned to the counter. The elf's distrust and fear of humans was certainly warranted. Hopefully, with time and effort, he could at least get her to see that there were humans beyond himself that were capable of being kind to elves. Proper humans like Vela and Lana.</p><p>"Is my plate ready, miss? I'd very much like to sign up for a job right away," he said, letting a tinge of impatience through in an effort to get her to be more expedient.</p><p>"Your plate is ready now, Lord," confirmed the receptionist, placing the Copper plate with a steel chain onto the counter. "All your paperwork seems to be in order as well. Let me be the first to officially welcome you to the Adventurer's Guild." She glanced briefly at Kiah. "If I may ask, do you have any additional adventurers to party up with?"</p><p>"Not at the moment." Lucifer had already grabbed the plate at that point and was attempting to put it around his neck. Struggling a bit, Kiah let go of his sleeve and moved to help him, clasping it around his neck easily enough, and he thanked the elf for the assistance.</p><p>"I understand, Lord. Please remember that a minimum of two adventurers per party is required in order to sign up for any jobs. And we do verify this when you are signing up for one. There are, unfortunately, no-"</p><p>"No exceptions. Yes, I know." Lucifer sighed. Rules schmooles. His gaze swept the hall, eyeing the other adventurers present. "While I'm making some friends, would you kindly find the most difficult jobs available to Copper plates for me to choose from?"</p><p>"Certainly, Lord," the receptionist said easily enough, bowing her head respectfully.</p><p>"I appreciate it," he said before leaving to walk closer to a few groups. He noted that they were all higher ranked than he, with their different plates, and were unlikely to want to partner up as a result. Grumbling, he wandered around the hall looking for anyone who was a Copper plate.</p><p>He approached a trio of Iron ranked adventurers, hoping that since they were close in rank to Copper that they might be inclined to party up, but they turned him down almost immediately.</p><p>"You've got nice gear, greenhorn, I'll give you that," said one of them, a warrior too, "But we've already got a full party and a job. We're just waiting for our fourth to get here. Sorry."</p><p>One of them argued that maybe adding one more wouldn't be a bad idea, but the other two were adamant that four was more than enough. Especially for the job they had already signed up for. Besides, the pay would be even less per person if they added one more, which made that third member suddenly less inclined to bring him on.</p><p>At least they were sort of nice about it. He couldn't blame their reasoning either. He'd probably do the same if he were in their shoes.</p><p>He thought about maybe trying to join River and her crew with their next job, but also realized that her party was even bigger than the four Iron plates and he would probably not be welcomed by a few of the members anyway, even if River herself agreed. He didn't want to cause any more tension than he already witnessed in their already established group.</p><p>Plopping down on a wooden bench in the middle of the hall, he crossed his arms and tried to think. Not that there was anything to really think about - he <em>needed </em>at least one other adventurer to party up with him in order to get a job, and right now there weren't any available. There was no getting around that. All he could really do was wait, or try his luck and walk around the city asking around. Maybe he'd bump into someone that way, as inefficient a method as that was.</p><p>He <em>could</em>, if he really wanted to bend the rules, try and get someone to say they were with him so that he could get a job, and then he'd go ahead and complete the job by himself and just give the person a cut without actually dragging them along for it. That could definitely work. He imagined it wouldn't be too hard to find someone to agree to such an arrangement. But he also wasn't sure if he'd be able to keep that a secret for long, and the Guild would likely frown on such a practice.</p><p>Still, it was an option that he'd keep in his back pocket for now.</p><p>The Iron ranked adventurers he had talked to linked up with their fourth and were on their way out when another one of their number, their cleric from the looks of her, came up to him, causing Kiah to stiffen up next to him.</p><p>"Hey there," she said in a friendly tone, "You're new aren't you? If you're looking for people to party up with, I suggest checking out The Lion's Tale. Most of the newcomers stay at that inn. And that's Tale as in a story, not tail like the one found on an animal. It's not too far from here." She proceeded to give them some pretty clear directions to get there.</p><p>Lucifer smiled beneath his helmet. "Thank you."</p><p>The girl smiled and wished him good luck before following after her departing teammates.</p><p>"Well. I really want to sign up for a job before we head home," Lucifer said to Kiah, who looked into his eyes briefly before staring back down at her lap. "How about we check out this Lion's Tale place and see if we can find anyone to get a job with? It's supposedly not that far. Then we can go home."</p><p>She gave him a strange look, then said, "Okay."</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>xxXxx</b>
</p><p> </p><p>Head Priests were incredibly busy, what with running an entire city's worth of Temples, dealing with the often incessant nobility in their jurisdictions, and occasionally reporting to and coordinating with the High Priests and the Archon back at the capital. Their days were often full and it was quite difficult to find time for them to sit down with you on short notice. Even more so for the Head of the Inquisitorial Division, but somehow Father Carlos had pulled it off.</p><p>Julius had gone to his superior at the Temple of Water in the south quadrant of Oldaven with news of the appearance of an angel with black wings once he was able to gather more information from the injured boys, and Father Carlos had listened to him with rapt attention and an increasingly troubled expression. When he asked Julius if he really believed them, the young priest had confidently said yes.</p><p>Then Father Carlos had said that they needed to bring this up with Father Antonias, Head Priest of Oldaven, and Julius suddenly felt less sure. And he hadn't expected to be asked to come along either, thinking his task done after reporting it to someone higher up the chain.</p><p>Yet here he was in the Grand Temple at the heart of the city, waiting along with his direct superior for the arrival of the Head Priest. Father Antonias's assistant, Sister Marta, informed them that he would only have ten minutes before he had to go on to whatever else he had scheduled for the day. Father Carlos had said that was more than enough time, and Julius wondered why this was so important to bring up immediately with the highest ranking member of the Temple in the city.</p><p>Julius was only ordained a little less than a year ago, after spending time honing his ability to harness the various powers of divine magic and studying the many scriptures of the Temple. It was his calling, and he was happy to serve the will of the Gods, bringing faith and hope to the people while helping to ease their suffering through his skills as a healer.</p><p>One day, he hoped to be given the chance to take charge of his own Temple and give even more of himself to the community than he already was. However, he had yet to really understand the ins and outs of the Temple as an organization, and he hoped to glean some insight from the situation he now found himself in.</p><p>Both he and Father Carlos, dressed in their blue vestments, were patiently waiting on a bench in the hallway just outside Father Antonias's offices, when the older priest turned to him with wrinkled hands clasped on his lap. It reminded Julius of how a good schoolboy might look while he was waiting to go into the headmaster's office.</p><p>"How have you been, Julius?" His voice was warm and steady, and made Julius feel at ease simply by hearing it. "I realize we've all been so busy that we've scarcely had much time to chat lately."</p><p>"I'm well, Father Carlos," Julius replied, "Tired of course, but not enough to complain. There's much to do at our Temple."</p><p>The older priest nodded slowly. "Ministering to the people is no easy task. Know that being tired means you are working hard, and working hard for the people means serving the Four Gods well."</p><p>"Father Charlie is definitely putting me through my paces."</p><p>Father Carlos's laugh echoed down the hall. "Is he now?"</p><p>"Sometimes I feel like nothing I do is good enough for him," admitted Julius, pouting a little.</p><p>This time the older priest merely chuckled. "He is quite... passionate about our work. Don't take it personally."</p><p>That was one way to describe it. Julius sometimes thought that Father Charlie might even have it out for him, considering how hard he had him work and how he often was yelling at him for not doing something quite right or quickly enough. Or for forgetting something.</p><p>But he supposed that as the youngest and newest member of their Temple, he was only being trained and worked so hard because the older priest wanted to be sure he knew what was expected of him there. Thinking about it that way made him feel a little better about it.</p><p>"What about you, Father Carlos? How are you?" Julius turned the question back on the older priest</p><p>"Well," the priest was suddenly pensive, "It has been a challenging year..." was all he managed to say before Sister Marta came out to collect them.</p><p>"Father Antonias will see you now," she said as she held the door open for them.</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>xxXxx</b>
</p><p> </p><p>They didn't make it to The Lion's Tale. Not all the way at least.</p><p>They were within sight of it when they heard angry yelling from a narrow side street nearby. Curiosity getting the better of him, having not really heard angry words being thrown around out on the street so far in his limited time in Oldaven, Lucifer decided to investigate, and Kiah tightened her grip on his sleeve as she had no choice but to follow him. A few people scurried away from the scene, not wanting to get involved, and soon the street was pretty empty of bystanders.</p><p>A group of four men, obvious ruffians from the looks of them, were towering menacingly over a petite blonde girl who was staring back at them defiantly. She didn't seem on first glance to be the least bit scared, which Lucifer thought was commendable. Most girls in her position would probably be begging for mercy and pleading for their lives.</p><p>"And what are you going to do about it, <em>Copper </em>plate?" remarked one of the men mockingly, and the rest of them laughed. He had a nasty looking dagger tucked under his belt.</p><p>"That looks dangerous, girl," said another, eyeing the short sword that she held tightly in her hands, knuckles white from the pressure. She was shaking a little, betraying the fear that was coursing through her despite the brave front she was putting on. "Give it here before you get yourself hurt."</p><p>"And give us whatever you've got in your pockets too," added another. This one was brandishing a heavy wooden club with metal studs hammered crudely into the tip.</p><p>"Yeah. Just hand over everything you've got, and we'll leave you alone," said the first one who spoke, "If you don't... well, that won't be the <em>only</em> thing we take from you today."</p><p>More laughter resounded from his friends, and their shared grins were predatory.</p><p>Lucifer rolled his eyes and sighed. These types of thugs were everywhere, it seemed. Did every world have these types of degenerates? He stepped closer to get a better look at what was going down and immediately narrowed his eyes at the girl. She looked very familiar.</p><p>"You're scum!" she spat as vehemently as she could muster. "And I'm not giving you anything."</p><p>"You hear that boys?" the first man looked around with a smirk and a dangerous glint in his eye. "Apparently we're scum."</p><p>"Scum of the earth," corrected the girl, and Lucifer couldn't help but smile at her spunk.</p><p>"Scum of the earth!" they repeated in unison. The men were laughing again, not taking her seriously at all.</p><p>Then the fourth man, who had remained pretty quiet throughout all this, said, "You ever kill anyone little girl?" His voice was as shifty as he looked. Daggers appeared in both hands then, the steel edges flashing in the sunlight.</p><p>Lucifer was surprised that they would be so brazen as to attempt whatever it was they were trying to do in broad daylight. Weren't there supposed to be guards patrolling the streets? And surely <em>someone </em>would've tried to find help. Right?</p><p>Kiah sidled closer to him, and he was reminded of her presence. This wasn't going to end well if he didn't intervene now. He took a step forward.</p><p>Before he could do anything, however, the men had apparently decided to stop playing around and tried to grab her without another word. The blonde girl, however, was faster and a bit more skilled than they expected. Reacting quickly, her sword swung through the air and slashed at two of them, bloody gashes opening where the blade met flesh, before the studded club slammed into her sword arm with a sickening crack and her weapon fell uselessly to the ground along with her. She screamed in anguish.</p><p>"Fuck! The bitch cut me!" roared one of the men, clearly in pain.</p><p>"You're going to wish you were dead after I'm through with you, <em>girl</em>," snarled the other with rising fury.</p><p>The one with the studded club and the one with the nasty dagger, who were unharmed, stood menacingly over the girl who had fallen to her side and was clutching her right arm, which was bent at an obscene angle.</p><p>She was whining with pain as she writhed on the ground clutching her arm.</p><p>"Not so tough now, are ya?" said the one with the nasty dagger as he kicked her in the head, opening up a new wound that bled easily on her face.</p><p>Lucifer told Kiah to stay back, and she reluctantly let go of him. He then walked towards the group and started to clap. Slow and steady. Mockingly.</p><p>That got their attention. The men turned towards the noise, and the sneers on their faces softened when they saw that the man who was clapping was clad in full adamantite plate and had swords strapped to his waist. Then their eyes beheld the Copper plate resting on his chest, and their sneers returned a fraction. They moved stiffly, suddenly aware that they were no longer in as much of an advantage as they were with the girl. But still, they glanced at each other, and felt strength in their numbers.</p><p>"Bravo," he said. "The four of you took down a girl in martial combat. Proud of yourselves?"</p><p>"Who the fuck are you?" asked one of the guys. This one picked up the girl's sword as he kept an eye on the advancing stranger. He had a shallow cut across his chest, his shirt torn and partially stained with blood.</p><p>"Well aren't you just a bunch of walking cliché's," Lucifer said casually as he finished with one last clap that echoed across the empty street.</p><p>"Get lost, stranger," growled the man with the cruel dagger, his dark eyes watching him warily, "This isn't your business."</p><p>His friends were fanning out across the street in case they got into a fight. Flanking him was definitely their best option, as well as hoping that their weapons struck him in the parts that his adamantite armor didn't cover. Because their weapons were <em>definitely</em> not going to even leave a single mark on it.</p><p>"This isn't my business?" Lucifer repeated, as if to clarify what he had heard.</p><p>"You heard him. Turn around and walk away," said the man dual-wielding daggers. He was bleeding onto the street from the cut the girl had made on his forearm.</p><p>Lucifer looked down at the girl, who the men had forgotten in favor of focusing on the newcomer. She was quivering, likely from pain and fear, and her face was a mess of tears and blood. Her arm looked quite bad, but she was in no immediate danger of dying so that was good.</p><p>"Unfortunately for you gentlemen," Lucifer said politely, but the edge in his voice was sharp enough to cut through their violent minds, "It <em>is</em> my business when you attack a member of my party."</p><p>The girl, even through her intense pain, stared wide-eyed at him from where she was lying on the ground.</p><p>The men were silent, and at least one of them looked like he wanted to back off and run away, but when his friends stayed so did he. They at least appeared to have strong camaraderie, which was commendable among such lowlifes. Usually, their type was more 'everyone for themselves.'</p><p>"She attacked us first," explained the man with the cruel dagger, playing with it nervously in his dominant hand. Lucifer decided he would be first.</p><p>"Pointing fingers now, are we? What are you, children?" asked Lucifer with annoyance. Then he shook his head. "It doesn't matter who started it. I'm here now to finish it. Unless you'd rather cut your losses and run. I'll let you get off with a warning not to do this shit again."</p><p>"Fuck you!" growled the one with the studded club, but he made no move to attack.</p><p>Lucifer shrugged. "Not the choice I would've gone with, but..." He lurched forward in a blur and then, to everyone watching, seemingly disappeared into thin air.</p><p>"What the-"</p><p>Lucifer's right hand was holding in a vice grip the wrist of the man with the nasty dagger, whose face went from shock to sudden fear as his scarred face went very pale. The dagger in his right hand slipped out from his weakened fingers, his hand slowly losing circulation, and therefore feeling, as the weapon clattered noisily to the stones beneath their feet.</p><p>The man with the studded club turned in surprise and then roared angrily with a wild swing at him. Lucifer dodged without much effort by ducking underneath it, but not before kicking the right knee of the man he was holding, and the thug's leg snapped sideways with a sickening crack. His scream of agony as he collapsed unnerved the other two, who stood still as the man with the club swung the weapon back around for another try.</p><p>Lucifer grabbed the shoulder of the man whose wrist he was still holding tightly and lifted him up enough that when Lucifer ducked underneath his arm, it was straight and fully extended as the club moved through the air, slamming into it with a sickening combination of cracking and crunching that caused everyone to flinch. The man who now had a very broken arm screamed in agony and then promptly went silent as he passed out from the pain.</p><p>The studded club was hastily brought back by its wielder and swung again as Lucifer threw the now unconscious man he was holding to the ground. This time the studded club harmlessly smacked against his adamantite helmet with a loud clang and the crude weapon bounced off instantly, throwing the man's balance off.</p><p>Lucifer didn't even really feel the blow despite where it hit him as he lunged forward, grabbed the front of the man's shirt, and then lifted him up as if he weighed nothing.</p><p>"Pathetic," Lucifer said with disdain straight to the man's face, who was still holding the club high above his head and then brought it down with a defiant cry, but the result was no different as the weapon simply clanged off Lucifer's helmet without causing any damage. There would be no follow up this time, however.</p><p>The club flew out of the thug's hands while Lucifer spun and slammed him into the ground with such force that he actually spat out blood. The wind knocked out of him, and with likely some broken ribs, the thug wheezed weakly as he bled from the mouth, and Lucifer proceeded to break his right arm as easily as snapping a twig.</p><p>An arm for an arm, he reasoned. Plus a little extra.</p><p>At this point, the one who had picked up the girl's sword immediately dropped it and ran away as fast as he could while the one with the daggers stood frozen to the spot, hands trembling so much it was impressive he was even holding on to them still.</p><p>"Drop it," Lucifer said menacingly, and the man complied without qualms before running away too. Thinking humorously for a moment that this was usually the part where such thugs said 'it's not over!' or 'you'll pay for this!', but not hearing anything of the sort, he set his attention to the injured blonde girl.</p><p>She had at this point passed out from the pain, and he knelt down and carefully took her into his arms. He was sure there were people watching, even if he couldn't quite see them, and he didn't want to heal her out in the open and thus reveal his secret. It wasn't ideal, for her at least, but he was going to have to get her somewhere more secluded before he could deal with her injuries.</p><p>Moving towards Kiah, who had crept closer once the fighting was over and was now standing with wide eyes taking in the scene, Lucifer told her to follow him and started walking. There were probably easier and less violent ways to gain party members, but he wasn't about to complain now that he had one.</p><p>"Welcome to the party, Julia," he said with amusement as he glanced at the blonde girl in his arms. Hopefully the girl's sister wouldn't mind joining either, wherever she was.</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>xxXxx</b>
</p><p> </p><p>The office was large but was only modestly furnished. Several glass cabinets held various trinkets and objects of precious metal that Julius didn't quite recognize. The far wall had four massive stained glass windows depicting the Four Great Gods in all their splendor. Each window had the base colors of each God, but of pretty much every hue of that color. The light that shone through mingled and the room was awash in brilliant color. It was a sight to see, and also, in Julius's opinion, quite distracting.</p><p>How did the Head Priest get any work done in here?</p><p>Father Antonias sat behind a heavy desk, various parchments and ledgers strewn across the surface of it. The holy lightshow danced atop his cleanly shaved head. His mouth was twisted into a deep frown, his face lined like a crumpled up piece of parchment, as he read from some kind of missive in his hand. Heavy dark brows hung like thunderclouds over iron-clad steel gray eyes. There was an intensity there that made Julius gulp. The other hand rubbed at the neat silver goatee around his frown.</p><p>Both Julius and Father Carlos were ushered in and promptly seated by Sister Marta, who introduced them aloud before departing. Now they waited to be acknowledged.</p><p>Such was the quiet in the room that Julius could hear the breathing of the two other occupants, and he wondered if his breathing was just as loud. The thought of it made him keenly aware of his own breathing and he tried to control it, with only a little success.</p><p>The Head Priest finally stirred, the rustle of parchment announcing that he was, at least, moving. His intense gaze landed first on Father Carlos, and then moved on to Julius, who couldn't look away as the man seemingly stared into his very soul, as if judging the worth of his very existence.</p><p>This was Father Antonias Galvan. Head Priest of Oldaven. Fourth-Tier Divine Magic Caster. And Grand Inquisitor of the Temple of the Four Great Gods.</p><p>"What is it, Carlos? You said it was urgent." His voice was deep like the rumbling of a mountain.</p><p>Julius felt a pressure seemingly release off him as the steely gaze swept back to Father Carlos, and he was surprised at the apparent friendliness, if that was even what it could be called, of the two older priests.</p><p>"It's been some time, Anton."</p><p>"You certainly look a little older than last I remember."</p><p>"You're even worse, my friend." Father Carlos smiled warmly.</p><p>Father Antonias let out an amused grunt. "These things tend to happen when you're in a position such as mine."</p><p>The other priest simply nodded sadly in understanding.</p><p>"So? What have you come to tell me that was so urgent you couldn't simply write me a report <em>like everybody else</em>?" It was said only partially in jest.</p><p>Father Carlos was unperturbed as he turned to Julius, who suddenly felt very small. "Father Julius here has discovered something that might be of great interest to you."</p><p>Julius swallowed hard, then after a moment to collect his disparate thoughts and summon some courage, he shared what he learned from the boys in the Healing Ward.</p><p>"Hallucinations," said Antonias dismissively, like it was obvious and they should've known it from the start. "Visions. Or a joke."</p><p>Julius wanted to say that it wasn't any of those things, that he believed it to be a real event that occurred, but words failed him. Thankfully, Father Carlos was there.</p><p>"I thought so too at first, Anton. But I spoke to these boys myself, and impressed upon them that it was imperative they tell the truth," replied the older priest. "Their story did not change. I looked into their eyes and saw they spoke the truth. If you were to meet with them yourself, you would conclude the same. Of this I am certain."</p><p>Father Antonias placed his elbows on the desk before him, his hands clasped together, fingers interlocking, while he leaned forward. The full weight of his gaze settling on Father Carlos, who did not yield an inch. Julius was beyond impressed, seeing the older priest in a new light.</p><p>"Hmm. Theocracy?"</p><p>Carlos shrugged noncommittally. "Perhaps."</p><p>Another long silence that had Julius feeling very uncomfortable, like he didn't belong there. It seemed as if he were being privy to things that were beyond his right or responsibility to know.</p><p>"Very well," Antonias lowered his hands until his forearms were resting on the desk. His voice was commanding. "Father Carlos Torren, you will be personally responsible for this formal investigation. An Inquisitorial Squad will be at your disposal. <em>Try</em> and be discreet."</p><p>"Understood. I'll do my best, old friend."</p><p>"Oh, and take the young one along. He seems useful."</p><p>Julius blinked. His eyes moving back and forth between the two older priests. Were they talking about him?</p><p>"I was planning on it," said Carlos, sounding amused.</p><p>Antonias grunted dismissively as he picked up another parchment full of writing, no longer interested in the two other priests in his office.</p><p>"Inquisitor." Father Carlos bowed respectfully, Julius copying him, and they made for the door.</p><p>Julius's mind was reeling all the while. What had he gotten himself into?</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Some notes:</p><p>Elf ears in my version of the New World aren't as long as the ones in canon. They're only slightly longer than humans and obviously sharp and more pointed (kind of like LotR elf ears, though maybe a bit more pronounced than that). Long enough that it'd be easy to tell if someone was an elf or not, but short enough that it's possible to hide them if hair is positioned well enough or was thick enough.</p><p>Pronounciation - Antonias (Ahn-Tonne-i-As)</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0013"><h2>13. Chapter 13</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Kiah had little time to process what she had just witnessed before Lucifer called to her and then set off down a side street leading away from the scene of the fight without so much as a backward glance. Not wanting to be left behind when there were apparently groups of violent thugs walking around this part of the city, she quickly followed after him.</p><p>But not before taking a few seconds to eye the now crippled and bloodied forms of the two such men that Lucifer had taken down so easily, drawing some sense of satisfaction at their current state. She was, however, somewhat disappointed to find that they were still, if painfully, clinging to life with short, noisy breaths. These were the types of humans she was most familiar with, the ones who enjoyed preying on the weak and downtrodden like herself. The ones who found pleasure in tormenting the powerless and fulfilling their many wicked thoughts and desires.</p><p>In her opinion, they deserved nothing less than an excruciating death. And for the briefest of moments she debated finishing them off herself. Had she been in Lucifer's shoes, she doubted very much that she could have stopped herself from ending their pathetic lives during the fight. It made her wonder why he hadn't done just that. It would have been so easy for him.</p><p>She had to break into a run to catch up to Lucifer, and it wasn't long before she could hear the echoing of panicked shouts and the sounds of commotion coming from behind them. Some people who hadn't been there to see the fight go down were probably now coming across the unconscious thugs lying crippled and bloodied in the middle of the street. It was really a pity that the thugs were probably going to get their injuries tended to and thus survive, but she took some comfort in knowing that they were at least suffering through considerable pain.</p><p>She continued to walk behind Lucifer as they moved along at a brisk pace, the armored man seemingly unhindered by the girl he carried in his arms. Kiah stared at his back and wondered if he had carried her in a similar manner when he saved her only a few nights ago.</p><p>She took a good look around as they moved down the street. The structures here were dull and unremarkable stacks of gray and sometimes brown stones that loomed over either side of the cramped streets, casting them entirely in shadow despite the afternoon sun. They occasionally passed a streetlamp, but they were dark and lifeless since it was not yet evening, though it would have made sense to leave them on given the dim light of the streets here.</p><p>The buildings, cruder in design compared to the other parts of the city she had seen earlier that day, were numerous and pressed too closely together, as if whoever built them had purposefully wanted to cram as much as they could into the available space.</p><p>That idea had apparently extended to people as well, and Kiah noticed that some of the buildings that appeared to be residential seemed to be housing many more families than would be comfortable living there. An experience she was keenly familiar with given that she had been until only recently forced to live with about two dozen others in what could generously be called a shack that probably should have only fit ten of them at most.</p><p>Half the time she had ended up sneaking out to sleep with the animals in one of the barns or stables at the farm, even if it meant potentially getting discovered by the guards and beaten for it. The animals didn't seem to mind. She liked animals. They didn't hurt her.</p><p>She saw hard eyes watching them from some of the windows as they passed. The few people out on the streets did their best to keep their distance from the man in armor carrying the injured girl, not wanting to get involved in whatever trouble had occurred. Most gave them wary looks while quickening their steps to get away as fast as possible, but a fair few didn't seem bothered by their appearance at all and walked by largely untroubled as if they saw such things fairly regularly. That was concerning.</p><p>Lucifer did not let up the pace and Kiah did her best to keep up, but her breathing soon turned ragged as she tired quickly. Her thin body was still rather weak from long-term malnutrition, and she had only barely begun to recover some strength. She hoped they would not have to go much farther but dared not voice her troubles.</p><p>Almost as if he were reading her mind right then, Lucifer slowed and then turned down another street, one even narrower than the last. The air was stuffy here, and hung heavy with the smell of human refuse and damp stone. Kiah crinkled her noise and tried hard to ignore the smell, which was proving to be difficult.</p><p>Lucifer then slipped into an even narrower alleyway and stopped about halfway through. Kiah nearly ran into him, so worried was she that she would get lost and left behind that she hadn't noticed until the last second that he had stopped in his tracks. She stood about a foot away from him and waited quietly as he turned and looked to either end of the alley. Then he glanced up. Was he looking for something?</p><p>"Kiah," said Lucifer, making her jump a little at the unexpected address.</p><p>"Y-Yes?"</p><p>"Hold on to me. Tightly." He spoke with urgency and she didn't even hesitate to comply, regardless of the questions that cropped up within her. She trusted that what he was saying was important and was also safe, so she had nothing to fear.</p><p>A second after she had wrapped herself around one of his arms, feeling the cool metal and soft fur-lined edges of his armor against her skin, they were immediately engulfed with magic.</p><p>Kiah blinked.</p><p>The dank and dark alley was gone, replaced instead by the familiar sight of two beds with a night stand in between them and a chest at the foot of one of the beds. They were back in their room at The Rose Moon Inn.</p><p>But how? Her mouth was agape as she was left stunned at their sudden traversal of the city in the blink of an eye. She was so stunned, in fact, that she had forgotten that she was clinging tightly to his arm, thus hindering his movement.</p><p>Lucifer let out a soft chuckle. "Kiah, you can let go now. We're here."</p><p>Kiah blinked again and then shook her head as she quickly let go of him. Her mouth shut as she looked meekly down at the floor, her hands clasping together in front of her.</p><p>"S-Sorry!" she managed to say as the now freed Lucifer stepped towards his bed and laid the blonde girl on it carefully.</p><p>Kiah glanced up in time to see him hold his hand over the girl, a magic circle forming as he called forth his healing magic. Green light suffused over the girl's body as her injuries were instantly healed. The deep gash on her head was gone, and her broken arm that had been pointing at an odd angle was now perfectly straight and normal. Other than the lingering blood all over her that had spilled from her wounds, it was as if she had never been injured in the first place.</p><p>Noticing this, Lucifer did another wave of his hand as he cast another spell. This time, all the spilled blood disappeared.</p><p>It was at that moment that Kiah really began to wonder if there was anything Lucifer <em>couldn't</em> do. He seemed to have powers far beyond anything Kiah had ever seen or heard of before. Though to be fair, she had little experience of the world so it was entirely possible that this all wasn't as extraordinary as she was making it out to be. Still, she could not help but feel impressed and amazed at the human who had saved her life.</p><p>"There. That should do it," Lucifer declared, sounding satisfied as he took a step back. He turned to Kiah, his face still hidden beneath his helmet. "Are you okay?"</p><p>Kiah nodded quietly.</p><p>"It's been quite the eventful day, hasn't it?"</p><p>"It has," she agreed softly. So much had happened that she was still trying to wrap her head around it all. And it wasn't over yet!</p><p>Lucifer gestured towards Kiah's bed. "Why don't you relax a bit and take a seat."</p><p>Kiah thought that was a good idea. She was feeling pretty tired after all. A few short steps later, she was sitting on the edge of her bed, facing Lucifer and the newcomer. "What happens now?" she asked.</p><p>Lucifer looked at her for a moment then faced the blonde girl again who was now sleeping peacefully on his bed. "Well, I suppose now we wake her up."</p><p>Without a moment's hesitation, he proceeded to lean over and shake the girl just enough for her to wake from her slumber.</p><p>"Mmmm..." the girl groaned sleepily, stretching and rolling a bit on the bed as she blearily opened her eyes. Then all of a sudden she bolted upright, her eyes now wide open and revealing her panick-stricken sky blue pupils.</p><p>She scanned the room, looking utterly confused, until her eyes shifted to Kiah and then settled on Lucifer.</p><p>"Y-You!" she gasped, apparently recognizing him.</p><p>"Hello, Julia," greeted Lucifer, and Kiah was taken aback by this. She had no idea that he knew this girl from before, though now it made even more sense as to why he had intervened in that fight earlier.</p><p>"You <em>are</em> Julia, right? Or are you actually Janna?" Lucifer asked, sounding curious. "You and your sister look very much alike, so forgive me if I'm mistaken."</p><p>Julia blinked. "N-No, you got it right," she stammered, apparently getting over the surprise of his presence. "I'm Julia," she acknowledged. "And for the record, we're not <em>thaaat </em>alike. I'm <em>taller </em>and <em>older </em>than my sister, you know."</p><p>Lucifer laughed lightly. "Duly noted."</p><p>The blonde glanced around the room again. "Where am I?"</p><p>"My room at The Rose Moon Inn," answered the armored Lucifer.</p><p>Julia nodded absently at first, accepting his answer, but then she suddenly peered at him suspiciously. "Wait. Do you often bring unconscious girls to your room like this?" she asked him accusatorially.</p><p>Lucifer, for once, seemed unsure of what to say. "I. . . ahh. . ." He glanced towards Kiah, whose lips twisted into a small grin because she was actually finding the spectacle rather amusing. After all, he <em>did</em> bring her here pretty much the same way he had brought Julia here. It would have probably been even more amusing if she could see Lucifer's face, hidden beneath his helmet as it was.</p><p>"How did I even get here in the first place?" Julia continued, scratching the side of her head.</p><p>"Well, I carried you," Lucifer answered easily enough, sounding inordinately glad that they had moved past the previous line of questioning already.</p><p>"Hmm. . . but where did you find me?"</p><p>"You don't remember?" Lucifer sounded surprised.</p><p>Julia shrugged and shook her head. "Nope! Not at all." For someone who couldn't remember what had just happened to her, she appeared surprisingly okay with it, which baffled Kiah. If she was in Julia's situation, she would probably be incredibly worried and anxious.</p><p>"Interesting," Lucifer said as he held up a hand to the bottom edge of the face of his helmet, looking thoughtful. "We found you in the midst of a fight with a bunch of lowlife thugs somewhere between The Lion's Tale and the Guild Hall. It seemed like you knew each other."</p><p>"Really?" Julia sounded surprised.</p><p>"You're not some kind of delinquent mixed up in criminal plots are you?" inquired Lucifer with an amused tone.</p><p>"No! Of course not!" exclaimed Julia incredulously. She gave him the look that said how dare he even insinuate such a thing.</p><p>"Just checking." Lucifer chuckled.</p><p>"Hmph," Julia huffed, crossing her arms.</p><p>"Well, seeing as how you don't remember what just happened to you, it's safe to say that you must be suffering from some short-term memory loss because of the trauma from your injuries," Lucifer informed the blonde girl.</p><p>"Injuries? What injuries?" Julia made a show of patting herself all over and looking herself over as best as she could. But before Lucifer could say another word, she yelled, "WAIT!" Her eyes went wide as she stared at her previously broken arm, gently running a hand across it. "I remember now. . ." she whispered. She raised a hand to check for the wound on her head, which was of course also healed up already.</p><p>"We healed you right away once we got back here," Lucifer answered the unasked question.</p><p>The skin around her eyes tightened. "Those bastards!" Her hands balled into fists and she shook with anger.</p><p>"So who were those guys anyway? Friends of yours?"</p><p>"No way! They're not my friends!" Julia practically shouted at the top of her lungs. She immediately looked embarrassed by her outburst and hugged her knees to her chest.</p><p>"But you know them?"</p><p>"Yeah." Julia gave him a subdued nod. "Everyone in my neighborhood knows them. They're a few years older than me, but we all grew up in the same part of the city. They were always troublemakers even back then, but they were more of a nuisance than a real threat so people just tended to ignore them. They always picked on me and my little sister whenever they saw us."</p><p>"Well, it seems like they've recently graduated from nuisance to real threat status then," Lucifer said.</p><p>"I guess. . ."</p><p>"So you were born in Oldaven? What part of the city did you grow up in?"</p><p>"My home actually isn't too far from where you found me." Julia reached up with both hands to finger the copper plate that dangled from her neck. "Officially, that area of the city is called the Northern Quadrant. But everyone knows it as the slums. I'm sure you noticed."</p><p>Kiah had certainly noticed. It had been strange to see free humans who were clearly impoverished. That explained why some of them became slaves too. She was aware that even humans could be cruel to their own kind, and there were a handful of human slaves at the farm, but they were treated much better than the elves so she never felt bad for them at all.</p><p>She peered at the young blonde, wondering about her upbringing and what thoughts she harbored for elves. Would she be as friendly as she was now if she discovered that Kiah was actually an elf?</p><p>"Ah, well it did seem like a rather depressed area," admitted Lucifer. "But what were you doing out and about by yourself, then?"</p><p>"What's wrong with that? I can take care of myself, you know."</p><p>Lucifer was silent, but it was clear that he was staring intently at Julia.</p><p>"Most of the time. . ." the girl mumbled, her head sinking. "Honestly, it's usually not that dangerous, especially around the part where you found me since it's fairly close to the Guild Hall. I was on my way to The Lion's Tale to try and find a party that my sister and I could join up with when those bastards showed up."</p><p>Lucifer laughed. "Well, you're in luck, Julia," said Lucifer. "I was actually heading to The Lion's Tale to look for a party as well. Perhaps you could say it's fate."</p><p>The blonde girl's head jerked up at that, giving him a surprised look. "You mean. . ."</p><p>"How about we form a party together?" Lucifer extended his armored hand.</p><p>"My sister too?"</p><p>"Of course."</p><p>Julia stared at his outstretched hand for a few seconds in disbelief. "A-Are you sure? I mean. . . aren't you like, already really strong? We're not-"</p><p>"I'm sure."</p><p>Julia's face turned serious. It was clear that she was giving this some thought. Then she nodded, more to herself than anyone else, and reached for his hand. "Then I accept!"</p><p>Kiah was surprised. Given what she had seen of the girl's martial skills, she was amateurish at best. Certainly nowhere close to the level of skill that Lucifer possessed. What he saw in her to actually form a party with her, the elf could not fathom. Perhaps the sister was who he was really after? Though she found it hard to believe that the younger sister could be any more skilled. Or maybe he was just being nice since they were looking for a party too. He was a very kind human after all.</p><p>Julia turned her head to look at Kiah. "By the way, who is she?"</p><p>"Oh, forgive me. I forgot to make introductions," Lucifer indicated the elf with his hand. "This is my assistant, Kiah. She's the one who healed you."</p><p>Kiah stared at him, flabbergasted. Whaaat?!</p><p> </p><p><strong>=x=x=x=x=X</strong> <strong>=x=x=x=x=</strong></p><p> </p><p>Sir Black grasped the man by the throat and proceeded to shove him into the nearest wall, the impact thudding hard enough to knock some air out of the man. The knight's eyes were filled with fury as his glare bore into the man. His grip was steel as the man feebly tried to pry his gauntleted fingers loose from the man's neck, to no avail.</p><p>"<em>What </em>did you say?" the knight asked dangerously.</p><p>The man tried to speak, but was having a difficult time of it, what with the knight practically choking him to death. With an irritated sigh Sir Black released the soldier and stepped back, taking a few deep breaths to calm himself as the man struggled to catch his breath.</p><p>"Tell me again," Sir Black commanded, a little calmer than earlier but still positively angry.</p><p>Coughing, the soldier reported the news once more. Two of his men, Eggert and Derek, had been spotted suspiciously leaving the city at separate times and in separate ways. Troubling news, considering that Sir Black had assigned them to a special task involving the stranger who had attacked them.</p><p>"When? Who else was with them? And where were they headed?" asked Sir Black, his raging anger subsiding beneath the surface as he began to think about how he was going to deal with this latest development.</p><p>Apparently they were spotted a few hours ago, and they seemed to be acting alone. Though they both appeared to be heading west after they left the city.</p><p>The knight couldn't rule out that they were coordinating and would meet up at a prearranged location at a later date. But why? What reason could they possibly have to suddenly abandon their duties and flee the city? Had they found something and were now trying to profit from it? Or did they ally with the stranger somehow? Sir Black needed to know. It didn't make sense to him.</p><p>These men were two of his more loyal subordinates, ones who had done dirty work for him in the past. He trusted them enough to carry out whatever mission he assigned them. To have them run away like this was previously unthinkable. And now it shook his trust in all of his subordinates while also infuriating him. He opened his eyes, adjusting his glare once more upon the poor soldier who had felt some of that anger firsthand. "I want them brought in front of me. <em>Alive</em>."</p><p>"Y-Yes, sir!" The soldier saluted and left in a hurry.</p><p>Sir Black clenched his fists, his teeth grinding together. If those two fools thought they could run somewhere beyond his reach, they were sorely mistaken. He would get the truth out of them easily enough. He had a whole dungeon gathering dust with tools that were already beginning to rust from disuse. It had been a while since he had needed to be that kind of man again, and a small part of him certainly missed it.</p><p>It took him a while to calm down enough to continue with the more mundane duties of his post. With only a few days left before the return of Lord Rubeon from his business in Arwintar, the knight had to make sure he crossed all his t's and dotted all his i's. He had no doubt that his lord and master was expecting him to report as soon as he arrived, and he did not want to disappoint the nobleman. It took him a couple of hours to finish his business for the day, by which time the sun had gone well below the horizon and the magical lamps in his office flared to life.</p><p>He sighed, leaning into his high-backed chair and shutting his eyes tiredly. He absolutely hated paperwork. It was one of the worst parts of the job. He hated it so much that he had even considered getting someone else to do it for him, but he didn't trust anyone nearly enough to do such an important task, so in the end he simply had to force himself to get it done. He briefly imagined the disgusted and amused looks of his former underworld comrades Sera and Peter, respectively, at his predicament.</p><p>Those two most certainly had other people handle their paperwork. Perhaps he needed to find someone trustworthy enough to do the same. But where was he going to find someone like that?</p><p>Sir Black left his office, located in the upper levels of the sizable barracks built not far from Lord Rubeon's mansion. It housed several dozen of the household guard that were stationed in and around the mansion. The main barracks was located further away on the estate, close to all the slave pens and farm buildings.</p><p>He made for the stables, where he retrieved his horse and was quickly off on his way to his own home, which was also built on the estate. Lord Rubeon had granted him permission to construct his own home, and had even offered to foot the bill, much to the knight's delight. He had refused, at first, but when the noble lord had insisted he could not refuse a second time. It was a lot of money, after all.</p><p>He rode for a few minutes before he sighted the torches and lamps that lit his home. It was a well-built two-story stone and brick structure with its own little stable and freshwater well. His own small slice of paradise. The basement, of course, was outfitted into a mini-dungeon that had yet to be used since he took up his post as knight to Lord Rubeon. He was excited at the prospect that it would soon enough be broken in, and his anger briefly flared at the thought of why.</p><p>As he rode into the courtyard in front of his home, three figures stood at attention to greet him, one standing in front of the other two. The one in the lead was dressed in the proper black and white attire of a butler. The other two wore tattered cottons and leathers. All three bowed as he pulled to a stop. Closer inspection revealed that the butler was human, while the two behind him were elves with their ears clearly clipped. Customary for elf slaves.</p><p>"Welcome home, master," they greeted him in unison, their tones neutral and respectful.</p><p>"Hmph. Is supper ready? I'm starving," he said as he dismounted, his boots crunching on the gravel.</p><p>One of the slaves walked around and quietly took his horse to the stable.</p><p>"Yes, master," responded the butler respectfully. "I can have it served in short order. Will you eat in the dining room, or elsewhere?"</p><p>"The dining room," he answered. "And have that new elf girl prepare me a hot bath."</p><p>"Right away, master."</p><p>Sir Black didn't bother changing out of his armor as he made his way to the dining room. He sat and waited a thankfully short time before his food was served by the second slave who had greeted him out front earlier. She was quiet while she set the food in front of him, and then stood off to the side afterwards, waiting for any orders he might have.</p><p>The butler was off probably supervising the new arrival. A young elf maiden that had only been recently brought into the city. It had been an expensive purchase, but it was meant as a surprise gift for Lord Rubeon upon his return. The nobleman loved to break in new slaves himself, though that didn't mean that Sir Black couldn't have a little fun beforehand. He smiled at the thought as he proceeded to dig in.</p><p>The food was quite good, though when he tried some of the soup he immediately spat it out as the liquid was too hot, scalding his tongue a little. His sudden actions caused the slave waiting on him to look on with worry, though she remained silent. She had learned long ago that she was not to speak unless spoken to.</p><p>"You!" he growled, beckoning to her angrily. He grabbed a napkin and wiped some of the mess he had made off himself with short, sharp movements.</p><p>She rushed to his side. "I-Is something wrong master?" she asked tentatively.</p><p>"This soup is far too hot," he stated flatly. "So hot that I've now burned my tongue." He noticed the elf practically quaking with fear, and it pleased him greatly that she acknowledged that this was not a good thing. Not in the slightest.</p><p>"I-I'm s-sorry master!" she cried, tears already beginning to well up in her eyes. "It w-wont happen again! I swear!"</p><p>"Get on your knees."</p><p>"P-Please, master. . ." She choked back more tears.</p><p>Sir Black glared at her. "Don't make me repeat myself."</p><p>She complied without saying another word, slowly going down to her knees. She was visibly shaking, snot bubbling from her nose as she wiped some of the tears away with her hands. It was really pathetic.</p><p>"How long have you been working in the kitchens? You should have known this soup was too hot," he berated her. "Did you mean to have me burn my tongue, slave? Was this your goal all along?"</p><p>She immediately shook her head. "N-No! Never, sir! I would nev-"</p><p>"Silence!" he roared, making her jump and shut her mouth. He looked at the steaming hot soup and had an idea. With a wide almost innocent smile, he asked her if she had eaten yet.</p><p>"N-Not yet, master."</p><p>"Good," he said. "Open your mouth."</p><p>"M-master?"</p><p>The back of his hand, gauntlet and all, smacked into the side of her face with a loud smack that echoed across the dining room, forcing her head to one side and back.</p><p>The crying elf cried out in pain from the hit and reached up to gingerly touch the side of her face where he had hit her. It was already bruising. She was openly sobbing now, not that Sir Black cared.</p><p>"Open. Your. Mouth."</p><p>She obeyed, presenting her open mouth to him as she knelt next to his seat. Her eyes were filled with pain and terror, and the knight absolutely loved it. He could feel all the stress and tension of the last few days already beginning to ebb away, and he hadn't even stepped into his bath yet! How he had missed this.</p><p>He reached for the steaming bowl of soup, and it was then that the slave realized what he intended to do. Her mouth twitched as she subconsciously tried to close it, but the fear of what he might do to her if she did made sure she kept it open, despite what she knew was coming.</p><p>He poured the hot soup into her open mouth, and she recoiled, wincing as a good portion of the soup poured into her mouth and burned it just as it had his. No longer having access to her mouth, the knight continued to pour some of the soup all over her face and arms, the hot liquid burning her there too. She cried and whimpered in agony. She started to move away, reflexively trying to get away from what was causing her pain.</p><p>"Stop moving!" he yelled menacingly, and she froze long enough for him to pour the rest of it all over her head. "There. All finished. I hope you enjoyed your dinner, slave. Now go get yourself cleaned up! You've made quite the mess."</p><p>She left quickly, crying and surely traumatized. It was unlikely his food would ever be scalding hot again. He would be most upset if the elf slave did not learn her lesson here.</p><p>Having had his fill for the evening, he left and made for the stairs, where he crossed paths with his butler who was descending the steps.</p><p>"I hope you had a good dinner, master?" asked the butler with a bow.</p><p>The knight smiled. "Oh, yes. It was quite good."</p><p>"I am glad to hear it, master."</p><p>"Is my bath ready?"</p><p>"Yes, master."</p><p>"And the slave?"</p><p>"She's waiting for you, master. I gave her the usual instructions."</p><p>"Excellent." Of all his servants, the butler was certainly the most valuable and most agreeable. As he should be.</p><p>He made his way to his room, where he found the new elf slave waiting as expected. She was dressed in a sheer silk nightgown with nothing underneath, and Sir Black made sure to take her all in as he approached. Her hair was a light brown and fell in curls to her shoulder. Her face was youthful and attractive, and her eyes were a lovely dark green. Lord Rubeon would be most pleased with this one, and he was sure to receive great praise for his selection.</p><p>"Master." The slave bowed to him in greeting.</p><p>"Help me with my armor," he instructed her.</p><p>She hesitated a moment, but was soon unbuckling and removing his armor, leaving him with only his clothes.</p><p>"And now my clothes."</p><p>Her dark green eyes flicked up at his own dark brown ones for just a second, clearly not liking it, but knowing she had no choice. A short while later only his underwear remained. He was pleased with her obedience thus far, and her submissiveness was certainly turning him on. She seemed to be fairly well-conditioned to her new situation. He would have to applaud the slave trainer from whom he had purchased this slave for her excellent work.</p><p>"One last thing," he said, motioning for his underwear.</p><p>Again, there was the briefest hesitation, before she complied. She made sure to look away as she did so, careful not to even glance in the direction of his privates. He couldn't help but laugh a little at her reaction, but said nothing. He couldn't really do as much as he'd like with this slave at the moment, but surely once Lord Rubeon had gotten tired of her he'd be able to enjoy her for himself. He eagerly looked forward to that day.</p><p>"Come with me," he finally said and made for the bath.</p><p>There was nothing quite like a good massage while in the bath. He only hoped the slave could do a good enough job of it.</p><p> </p><p><strong>=x=x=x=x=X</strong> <strong>=x=x=x=x=</strong></p><p> </p><p>Lucifer was enveloped in the familiar rush of cool wind all around him as he hovered effortlessly in the dark of the early night sky, his eyes fixated on a lone house amid the trees far below.</p><p>After leaving an understandably much bewildered Kiah back at the inn, with a promise of explaining everything later, he had escorted Julia home. The girl had been anxious to return to her sister, who she had apparently left home alone.</p><p>The sun had set by the time they arrived at their destination. The two girls lived on the third floor of a tall and narrow structure four stories high and built from the same moss-covered dull gray stone that made up the majority of the buildings in the neighborhood. He had been invited to come inside and meet the younger sister, apparently their parents were still out working, but he politely declined. There would be time enough to meet and get to know Janna, seeing as they were in the same party now.</p><p>He had other business to attend to that could not wait for another day. Especially since he was likely going to be busier moving forward with Adventurer work, and he preferred to get this particular business out of the way before all that started.</p><p>The shadowy form of a cloaked figure coalesced from the darkness next to him, black wings beating rhythmically behind it. Bezaliel, Angel of Shadows. The first angel he had summoned here in this new world.</p><p>Out of curiosity, Lucifer had used the summoning spell again, and was rewarded with the appearance of the angel in question in exchange for the requisite amount of mana for the spell. Then he cancelled the spell, and sure enough Bezaliel remained where he was, seemingly unaffected by the loss of the magic that had called him here. Whatever happened to the summoning system here in this new world with regards to angels, he was not about to complain. That meant he could summon angels without imposing limits on his mana like they normally did. In YGGDRASIL, this probably would have been classified as a game-breaking bug and there would be many complaints from the players.</p><p>"Well?" Lucifer asked.</p><p>"He is currently in the bath, Lord Morningstar," reported Bezaliel in that otherworldly voice of his.</p><p>"Is he alone?"</p><p>"There is a servant girl attending to him at present, and there are three other servants within the vicinity of the structure."</p><p>"No guards?" Lucifer was surprised.</p><p>"No, Lord Morningstar."</p><p>Either this man was supremely confident that he would not be attacked at his home, or incredibly foolish. Or perhaps he believed himself capable enough to defend his own home alone if it came down to it. Or perhaps the servants were powerful somehow, strong enough for the enemy to have no need for guards.</p><p>"What of the servants?"</p><p>"They are unremarkable," responded the Angel of Shadows. "Shall I dispose of them?"</p><p>"No. That won't be necessary." Lucifer shook his head. This was going to be easier than he thought. A part of him felt disappointed, but that didn't matter as long as he could get this over with. He was about to head in when a thought struck him and he turned to the Angel of Shadows. "By the way, if you could scour the rest of the estate for anything that might be of interest, that would be great."</p><p>"As you command, Lord Morningstar." There was no hesitation in Bezaliel's reply as he disappeared into shadowy nothingness.</p><p>"So cool," whispered Lucifer excitedly as he stared at the spot the Angel of Shadows had previously occupied for a second. Then he shook his head to refocus on the matter at hand.</p><p>First things first, he was going to summon another angel. In part to test out his theory about the summoning cost and persistence of angels in this world, but also because having another intimidating presence nearby would be useful should his own efforts to frighten this enemy into submission himself prove futile. However, he had many choices, and it had been difficult to choose which one to bring out this time. In the end, he settled on another angel of similar strength to Bezaliel.</p><p>"<strong>[</strong>Summon Fallen Angel: Turiel<strong>]</strong>!"</p><p> </p><p><strong>=x=x=x=x=X</strong> <strong>=x=x=x=x=</strong></p><p> </p><p>It was the freezing cold that woke Sir Kenrick Black. A heavy tingling and a growing numbness permeated his whole body. He shivered uncontrollably, his teeth chattering audibly as his eyes flicked open in panic. He could see his breath frosting in the air. He was still in the bath and the frigid water now had little sheets of ice floating on the surface. When did it get so fucking cold? And how? He tried to grip the edges of the tub so that he could lift himself out, but he could scarcely gather the strength. His mind scrambled for an explanation just as much as it searched for a way out of his predicament. This couldn't be happening. This had to be some strange dream.</p><p>And where was that elf slave? Was this her doing? Fear struck him then. Had she been sent to kill him? Was she some assassin sent by the stranger who had attacked them before? Or was this another enemy? His mind turned to Sera. The bitch was unhinged enough to attempt such a thing, but somehow he didn't think it likely. Especially after their meeting earlier in the week. Besides, even if that were the case, surely Peter would have warned him. The man owed him that much, at least.</p><p>"Oh good. You're awake," spoke a male voice that he definitely didn't recognize.</p><p>Still shivering, Sir Black slowly swiveled his head towards the man who had spoken and inhaled sharply at what he saw. Or at least, as sharply as he could given that he was already experiencing the effects of severe hypothermia and was therefore breathing in rapid, quick breaths.</p><p>Sitting on what could only be described as a small throne of ice was the stranger that had been described to him in detail several times before. A man dressed in magnificent white robes with a shock of spiky white hair and brilliant golden eyes that shone in the dimly lit bathroom. He appeared to be entirely undisturbed by the cold, much to the knight's confusion. But it was the towering figure standing behind the throne that really drew the knight's eyes.</p><p>His impressive muscles appeared to almost be chiseled out of rocks and his smooth bald head nearly touched the eight-foot tall ceiling of the bathroom. His craggy face and large prominent nose were striking, and his dark eyes were like crevices in the dim light. Draped over one of his massive shoulders was the pelt of a giant lion, with its roaring head still attached and acting like a pauldron.</p><p>The man was as imposing as a mountain, and the knight had never before felt so small. The hulking stranger wasn't included in any of the reports he had received about the one who had attacked the farm, and he wondered where in the world this newcomer had come from. Surely someone would have noticed him walking around Oldaven, and yet this was the first time he had ever seen or heard of anyone like the man standing before him.</p><p>"You've been out of it for a while. Enough time for me to play around with my spells a bit," said Lucifer, tapping the armrest of the icy throne. "What do you think?"</p><p>"W-W-Who. . ." Sir Black could barely speak.</p><p>The stranger smiled, his teeth white as pearls. "The name is. . . Samael. The big guy behind me is called Turiel."</p><p>The giant of a man called Turiel let out a grunt that Sir Black swore shook the room. Maybe even the whole house.</p><p>"And don't fret, I already know <em>your</em> name, Sir Kenrick Black. A pleasure."</p><p>Samael? He thought the stranger's name was Lucifer or something just as odd as that. Were the reports all wrong? No, that couldn't be the case. There was certainly someone named Lucifer involved. But were there more that they hadn't accounted for? All the information he had been given pointed to only one target, but perhaps that was their play all along. These enemies were far more cunning than he had given them credit for. And far more powerful. It only made sense, considering that his sources told him that the Lucifer they were targeting was actively attempting to join the Guild as an Adventurer, and was a warrior. Not a mage like the man sitting in the middle of his bathroom right now. And this Turiel was a mystery as well.</p><p>"W-W-Wh-Why?" Sir Black managed after considerable effort. He already knew, of course, but he was just trying to buy time to think. If they meant to kill him, he would already be dead and they wouldn't be having this conversation, which meant they wanted something from him. Something only he could provide. But what?</p><p>"Why, he asks. . . has the cold addled your mind?" The stranger furrowed his brow for a moment and then shook his head in disappointment. "You sent your men after us, and you're asking why I'm here?"</p><p>Sir Black should have been angry. He should have been seething and growling, barking at this stranger who dared to come into his home like this. He wanted to yell and ask if this intruder knew who he was messing with, but all he could feel was fear. Total and utter fear. He was at a complete disadvantage. Not only was he caught unawares, but he was facing off against a powerful mage and he was naked and weaponless. There was no way he was going to survive the night unless he could somehow talk his way out of it, and he couldn't even talk because of the damned cold! He couldn't even shout for help, not that there would be any useful help from the few people nearby to hear him. It occurred to him then that he should have probably posted guards around his home, but he didn't think it necessary until now.</p><p>"Y-Y-You. . . a-a-att-attack-ed. . . u-u-us f-first." He struggled to enunciate the words. Damn this cold.</p><p>Samael sighed. "Yes, I suppose you do have a point there." He rubbed his chin thoughtfully with a gloved hand. "How about a compromise, then? I attacked you, you attempted to attack me. . . we can call it even and stop all hostilities between our parties henceforth. What do you say?"</p><p>Sir Black couldn't believe what he was hearing. This man could pretty much ask anything of him right now and the knight couldn't refuse him. Not if he wanted to live to see the next morning. Although, he supposed that regardless of what he said here, he didn't necessarily have to follow through once he was free and clear. But it would be foolish of him to betray a mage who was clearly, at the very least, a third-tier magic caster. In addition to the behemoth of a warrior behind him. It was surely the wiser choice to comply, at least outwardly, even though it grated against his pride.</p><p>"Y-Y-Yes." The knight nodded. Or tried to nod. But he was shivering so much it didn't look distinct enough to actually be considered a nod. What other option did he have? He was neither brave enough nor foolish enough to defiantly say no in the face of what was likely certain death.</p><p>"Excellent. Your people will stop following and interfering with our people, and in exchange we will let you live. Everyone wins." Samael smiled again as he got to his feet and pointed a finger at the tub beneath the knight. "<strong>[</strong>Burning Flames<strong>]</strong>." A small magic circle that glowed black and purple emerged from the tip of his outstretched finger, quickly followed by a jet of similarly colored flame that rushed towards the spot he was pointing at.</p><p>Almost immediately, Sir Black could feel the water in the tub getting warmer. The ice on the surface melted in a few seconds and the shivering of his body diminished as the water changed from unpleasantly frigid to nice and warm. As this was happening, a thick steam began to fill the room, obscuring his vision. By the time it cleared enough for him to see, the intruders and the throne of ice were gone without a trace.</p><p>He slumped back into the tub, letting out a long breath. His overly pruned body prickled painfully all over as it began to warm up in the now pleasantly hot water. He had survived. Somehow. Now what was he going to do about this? What <em>could </em>he do? The wheels in his mind turned slowly, and soon enough a plan began to emerge from his thawing mind. He was going to have to call in some favors.</p><p> </p><p><strong>=x=x=x=x=X</strong> <strong>=x=x=x=x=</strong></p><p> </p><p>"I think that went well," Lucifer said cheerfully.</p><p>He and Turiel were standing in a small clearing some distance away from the house of the knight they had just visited. The big angel, massive arms crossed over his even more impressive chest, stood completely still with his eyes closed. If anyone were to look at them now, it would seem as if Lucifer was simply admiring the fine craftsmanship of a larger-than-life statue. That could talk.</p><p>"May I ask you. . . a question, Lord Morningstar?" Turiel's words came slowly and in bunches. His booming voice was deep and sounded clear through the night, yet Lucifer was certain that this was Turiel's conversational voice. He hoped that he would not find out what the angel sounded like when he was yelling.</p><p>"Yes, of course. What is it, Turiel?"</p><p>"Why did you not. . . simply kill the human. . . who was opposing you?"</p><p>Lucifer stared at the bigger angel. It was really amazing how these summoned angels could think and speak on their own to the point of initiating and sustaining entire conversations. There was definitely nowhere close to this level of interaction with summoned creatures back in YGGDRASIL. Even the custom player-made NPC's weren't as lifelike. Though some of the NPC's he had seen were definitely impressive, it was still obvious that they were NPC's.</p><p>Lucifer chuckled. "You know if we killed everyone who disagreed or opposed us without giving them a chance to change their mind, we might have to kill most of the people on this planet."</p><p>Turiel was silent.</p><p>Lucifer stopped chuckling and gave him a sideways glance. ". . . and I'm guessing you see no problem with that, do you?"</p><p>Turiel opened his eyes and leveled a serious gaze at him. "Would it not be. . . easier?"</p><p>Lucifer facepalmed and took a deep breath before responding. "Wiping out most of human life is not something you do lightly, and I'm not inclined to commit genocide on any race unless there are absolutely no other viable options available," answered Lucifer with a pained expression.</p><p>In fact, he preferred not to commit genocide at all, but he didn't want to completely rule out any options from the table. For instance, if there was a race of bloodthirsty soul-sucking creatures or something he might actually consider such a drastic option. Besides, there was still so much about this world that he did not know. And doing something so horrific would probably get all manner of powerful beings opposed to him, which was likely going to get him killed. If anything else, staying alive was definitely priority number one.</p><p>"But this human will. . . continue to oppose you," stated the angel firmly.</p><p>"Yes, perhaps," Lucifer acknowledged. "But until he tries something against me again, we do nothing."</p><p>Lucifer did consider it highly likely that Sir Black would attempt to circumvent the agreement by getting someone else outside of his group to attack him, but Lucifer believed firmly in second chances. Even for his enemies. And he would give Sir Black that chance. If it turned out that any future attacks were directly linked back to the knight, then he would suffer the consequences. Until then, Lucifer would act as if the agreement was being honored. Besides, given how weak he sensed the knight was, he doubted that the knight could scrounge up anything worth troubling him. There was very little to worry about.</p><p>"Mmmm..." Turiel hummed in response, but said nothing more.</p><p>Lucifer had the sense that he did not really approve. Would the angel do things of its own accord? The thought troubled him.</p><p>The two angels that he had summoned thus far continued to persist even after he cancelled the summoning spell that had called them forth into this world. They also continued to obey him and were not hostile to him so far, as if the summoning spell was still in effect. While the discovery was a blessing for him in terms of the immeasurable value of having a higher mana pool than normal as a summoner and a much higher maximum number of summons, he realized that it was also potentially a curse. Because it was entirely possible that the summoned angels could decide to go rogue and follow their own will, potentially even disobeying him and becoming hostile to him. Though he could not know for certain until such an event happened, of course.</p><p>Before he could contemplate more on the subject, Lucifer's train of thought was derailed as a creepy ethereal voice echoed unbidden in his mind, startling him. It was Bezaliel.</p><p>
  <em>"Lord Morningstar. I have found something you might be interested in."</em>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0014"><h2>14. Chapter 14</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"You have got to be joking," said Lucifer as he stared at the pieces of parchment laid out on the counter before him. His eyes glowed a little through the slits in his helm as his passive [Gift of Tongues] ability translated the words on the page for him automatically.</p>
<p>It was mid-morning on the first day of the newly formed party between him, Julia, and Janna, and all three of them were presently standing at one of the counters in the Oldaven Guild Hall, deciding on their first official job together.</p>
<p>They were Copper-plates, the lowest rank adventurers, so their options for challenging and exciting jobs were more than likely slim to none. Lucifer knew that and had been preparing himself for dull and unexciting jobs, but he did not think it would be <em>this</em> bad.</p>
<p>"<em>These</em> are the hardest jobs currently available for Copper-ranked adventurers?" Lucifer asked in disbelief.</p>
<p>The clerk who waited patiently on them nodded and gave him an encouraging smile. "That is correct, sir. If you'd like, I can bring out a few that are less difficult."</p>
<p>"That. . . won't be necessary." Lucifer groaned inwardly. Apparently, the types of jobs asked of Adventurers ranged much wider than he expected.</p>
<p>If these jobs were any less difficult, they might as well be escorting old people across the street. He jokingly thought of asking the clerk if there was such a job available but then decided against it. In the off chance that there actually was one, he preferred not to know.</p>
<p>The two sisters were to his right, and from the corner of his eye he could see Janna tug on her older sister's sleeve, prompting the older girl to lean in as Janna whispered something in her ear.</p>
<p>Lucifer had learned pretty quickly that the two possessed markedly different personalities. Julia was outgoing and energetic, relishing attention and wanting to be heard. Meanwhile, Janna was shy and reserved, preferring not to be noticed and keeping to herself. The younger girl had barely even glanced at Lucifer when they had been introduced earlier that morning, mumbling a quiet greeting as she stared at her feet.</p>
<p>The stark differences in their personalities was surprising given how alike they looked. So much so that they could be mistaken for twins. Although if anyone remarked about it, Julia would be quick to point out they were not at all twins. That they were, in fact, separated in age by a year, with Julia being the older of the two. And slightly taller to boot.</p>
<p>Immediately after introducing Lucifer to her sister, Julia had declared their adventurer party officially formed in such an amusingly excited manner that it thankfully broke the slight awkwardness that had settled between them. He suspected she had done it on purpose specifically for that reason, more for her sister's benefit than his, no doubt.</p>
<p>Not for the first time in his life, Lucifer wondered what it would have been like to have an older sibling of his own in his previous life. Or any sibling, for that matter. Someone he could lean on and maybe even look up to, or conversely someone who would rely on him and look up to him. How different would his life have been? At the very least, he would not have felt so alone.</p>
<p>"Janna says she'd like to take this job," said Julia, pointing to one of the parchments.</p>
<p>"Huh?" Lucifer turned his head, shaken out of his thoughts.</p>
<p>Julia picked up the parchment in question and handed it to him. "We should do this one."</p>
<p>He looked it over front and back – the back was empty, but he had to be sure after what happened with the Guild Exam paper – then glanced at the girls. "Are you certain?"</p>
<p>Janna gave an almost imperceptible nod without looking his way, and Julia smiled and nodded as well.</p>
<p>"I think this is a good one to start with too," she added.</p>
<p>"Very well, then." Lucifer sighed as he turned his attention back to the clerk. "We'll take this job," he said as he slapped the parchment back on the counter with finality and pushed it towards the clerk.</p>
<p>"Wonderful!" The clerk clapped her hands together, beaming at them. "Please wait a moment while I prepare the necessary paperwork."</p>
<p>The paperwork turned out to be a few things, one of which was a contract that, as party leader, Lucifer had to sign. It pretty much read like any standard work contract he had seen before in his past life. Except for the whole magic and monsters parts of it, of course.</p>
<p>Basically, they were agreeing to complete the task they signed up for while adhering to any specific guidelines laid out by the client and also following the rules of the Guild and the laws of the Empire. Any violations would be met with punishment, including but not limited to expulsion, exile, imprisonment, or even death.</p>
<p>Next was a form that all three of them had to fill out. They were supposed to write down what they wanted the Guild to do in the event of their untimely demise as well as to list any next of kin to be notified. It was essentially a living will, and a reminder that the life of an Adventurer was a dangerous one.</p>
<p>Lucifer was surprised at how official the whole process was, right down to the standardized forms and contracts. Was this an influence from prior YGGDRASIL players, or was this something that the people of this world came up with on their own?</p>
<p>He noticed that the girls grew anxious as they filled out the last form. Understandably so, since they were still young enough that the thought of death was surely very far from their minds. He wondered then what their parents thought of their chosen profession. Did they even know? The pair had not mentioned them at all, but Lucifer did not want to pry.</p>
<p>Once finished with the paperwork, they thanked the clerk, who bade them good luck, and then left the Guild Hall to head towards the location of their first job.</p>
<p>They had barely walked half a block when Julia raced forward, jumped, and turned around to face them with the biggest grin on her face. Apparently, the anxiety she felt while filling out the forms was already forgotten.</p>
<p>"We finally have our first Adventurer job!" she exclaimed, switching her excited gaze between Lucifer and her sister rapidly. "Do you know what that means? Do you?" She hopped up and down, bouncing on the balls of her feet, hands loosely curled into fists up by her chest like a giddy child about to receive a present she had long been asking for.</p>
<p>"Uh. . . what?" responded Lucifer, wondering if he was somehow missing something. He glanced at Janna, who appeared to be just as clueless as he was. If a giant question mark could pop up from her head, it probably would have. Lucifer probably would have had two such question marks.</p>
<p>"It means we're going to get paid!" Julia did one last hop as she thrust a fist into the air triumphantly. Then she ran up to grab her sister's hands, causing Janna to look terribly embarrassed as several passersby took notice of the boisterous girl. "And getting paid means we get to buy stuff! Like more food! And clothes! And gear! And. . . And. . . stuff!"</p>
<p>Lucifer couldn't hold back a laugh. "Hooray for consumerism."</p>
<p>"Huh?" The two confused girls turned in unison to look at him, though Janna was quick to glance away.</p>
<p>"Don't worry about it," said Lucifer, his laugh subsiding into a soft chuckle. "Now come on, we should get going. In order to get paid we have to actually <em>do the work</em> first, you know. And the faster we get it done, the faster we get paid and can move on to the next job."</p>
<p>"I know that!" Julia huffed, cheeks reddening. Crossing her arms, she stalked off ahead of them.</p>
<p>"H-Hey! Wait for me." Janna ran after her with her own cheeks tinged red at the unwanted attention from the public, most of whom were eyeing them with amusement.</p>
<p>Yes, he very much wanted to get this over with. The more jobs they completed, the sooner they would be able to rank up. He wasn't sure how long he would be able to put up with these Copper-plate jobs.</p>
<p>For a moment, Lucifer watched them go on ahead. The current job was likely to bore him to death, but at least the girls might make things a little bit interesting.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <strong>=x=x=x=x=X=x=x=x=x=</strong>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Lucifer held the small glass bottle up against the sunlight that streamed in from the shop window and stared at the dark blue liquid contained within.</p>
<p>Apparently, this was what passed for a healing potion around here. And a weak one at that, since the more potent ones were surprisingly expensive. They cost a whopping fifteen gold each. Twelve when he tried to haggle, and the shopkeeper would go no lower. Even then, twelve gold for one potion was far too expensive for him at the moment. All he had were a handful of silvers and some coppers.</p>
<p>"All your healing potions are blue?" Lucifer asked the shopkeeper for the second time already, wanting to be sure. He had never seen blue healing potions before. The ones he knew from YGGDRASIL were red, like most games he had played before. Blue potions were normally for recovering mana or spirit/spell points.</p>
<p>"Yes, sir," the older woman replied as she had done the first time, a trace of annoyance in her voice. "They're all blue."</p>
<p>"You don't have any red healing potions?"</p>
<p>"Red?" The woman scoffed and blinked. "I've never heard of a red healing potion before. We do have strength potions that amplify physical strength, which are reddish-orange in color, if that's what you're looking for."</p>
<p>"Is that so?" he said absently. He noticed a few particulates settling to the bottom of the bottle he was holding. That was unexpected too. Shaking the bottle so that the blue liquid swirled, he watched as the particles dissolved once more into the mixture.</p>
<p>"Everyone knows that healing potions are blue, Lucifer," said Julia, who was looking between him and the bottle he carefully held with his armored fingers.</p>
<p>"My apologies, I was just making sure," he replied quickly without elaborating. "Hmm. . . You said this was your cheapest healing potion, yes? How much is it exactly?" Lucifer asked as he placed the one he was scrutinizing back on the counter between him and the shopkeeper.</p>
<p>"That one is brewed mostly from herbs by a local pharmacist, with no magic involved, so it'll only cost you two silver."</p>
<p>He grimaced, glad that his helm hid his face so that nobody could see his expression. At that price, getting one each for the girls would run him four silver, which was a not insignificant amount of money for his current new world financial state. But the reason they were here in the first place was because he found out that the girls had no healing potions of their own, unsurprising given how expensive they apparently were, and he had promised to get them some.</p>
<p>While he had seemingly countless bottles of his own saved up over the years in his inventory, it was not an infinite amount and would eventually run out. With that in mind, he had made it a priority to investigate what potions were available in the new world, and so it seemed a perfect enough reason to accomplish that today.</p>
<p>As a bonus, the shop they presently found themselves in was on the way to their first job too. Though he had not expected the healing potions to be so different in this world.</p>
<p>There were well over 200 potions available for use in YGGDRASIL, and from what Lucifer had gathered so far while talking to the shopkeeper, there were not nearly as many here in the new world. A curious matter, considering that the players who had come before surely had some potions from the game to share with these people. Something he would have to investigate further, it seemed.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, the shopkeeper did not have the expertise of an alchemist nor a scholar, so he could not really ask her anything technical about the potions. She knew only enough to peddle the wares to customers, and there appeared to be some common knowledge about such potions among the populace to begin with, knowledge that he did not have until now.</p>
<p>"So, are you going to buy it or not?" asked the woman, growing increasingly impatient. From her attitude it would seem as if there were other customers waiting to be served, but the shop was empty save for Lucifer and the girls.</p>
<p>Lucifer did not respond right away. Judging from the prices, he figured there must be a lot of adventurers and others going around without the more powerful healing potions. The vast difference in cost between the potions made him wary of the effectiveness of the weaker potion.</p>
<p>"I will in a moment, but I must ask. . . what can you tell me about the effectiveness of this potion?"</p>
<p>The shopkeeper crossed her arms, fingers tapping on her skin. "This potion speeds up the natural healing process and will completely heal most minor injuries in just an hour or so, or so I'm told. It will help some with moderate injuries too, but it would depend on the injury. . . definitely won't heal anything serious, but it might help to prolong your life enough to get to a proper healer at that."</p>
<p>Lucifer frowned. "An hour for minor injuries? That seems too long. So for any moderate injuries. . . Wouldn't you bleed out from your wounds by then?"</p>
<p>The woman shrugged. "That's what bandages and healing salves are for, I reckon. And the more potent potions, of course."</p>
<p>"I see." Lucifer stared at the potion on the counter. "Any of your potions heal wounds instantly?"</p>
<p>Again, the shopkeeper scoffed. "If such a potion existed, everyone would be scrambling to get one. The best potions take a few minutes to completely heal light to moderate wounds, but serious injuries can still take some time. And they can't regrow limbs or anything crazy like that, if you're wondering about that as well."</p>
<p>"Got it. Thank you for the information," he said. "How much for bandages and salves?"</p>
<p>As Lucifer and the shopkeeper talked prices, Julia spoke up again.</p>
<p>"You really don't have to get any of that for us, you know." The girl shifted uncomfortably on her feet. "We can manage without potions. We just have to be extra careful, that's all. And besides, Kiah can always heal us if we're ever hurt, right? Her healing magic really is amazing." Julia moved her right arm around, flexing her wrist and her hand. "My arm honestly feels even better than before after she healed it."</p>
<p>Janna looked to her sister at the mention of another magic user, a question forming, but she did not ask it.</p>
<p>Lucifer shook his head. "But Kiah isn't with us when we're out completing a job," he replied as he reluctantly fished out coins from his money pouch. "If one of you were to get seriously hurt and we couldn't get back to her in time. . . well, you understand."</p>
<p>"Well. . ." Julia trailed off, deflated.</p>
<p>How troublesome it was to discover that healing potions in this world were supposed to be blue. Because of that, he needed to be extra careful about using the red YGGDRASIL ones in his possession if he wanted to not draw too much unwanted attention. If only Janna could use her magic to heal, but unfortunately the girl didn't know any healing spells.</p>
<p>Hiding his magic was starting to sound like a dumb idea now. Perhaps he should have enlisted in the Guild as a paladin instead. Too late for that though. He was already officially registered as a warrior, and warriors were definitely not supposed to be able to wield magic in this world.</p>
<p>Well, hopefully he would not have to hide his true abilities and origins for too long. Once he learned more about this world and secured a safe place for himself in it, he would be able to operate with a lot more freedom.</p>
<p>The potion and medical supplies were at least better than nothing. And if the worst were to happen, he figured he could always use his own potions or his magic.</p>
<p>The shopkeeper quickly swiped the coins, and after a brief inspection of the currency she nodded with satisfaction. Adding another bottle of the blue potion next to the one already on the counter along with some bandages and small sealed jars of salves, she slid them all towards Lucifer.</p>
<p>Julia frowned as she eyed the exchange. "Speaking of healing magic. . . I've been meaning to ask you about Kiah. Is there a reason why she isn't an adventurer and in our party? Her skills would be incredibly useful to any party in the Guild, especially ours. We wouldn't have to worry as much about healing potions."</p>
<p>"It's complicated," Lucifer said simply as he grabbed the supplies.</p>
<p>In truth, he had not really considered it. After saving her from slavery, he figured she would want to rest and recover for a while, and then once she had regained her strength, she would leave his care. Though he probably should ask her at some point what she wanted to do next.</p>
<p>"Here." He extended the recent purchases towards Julia, hoping to steer the subject away from the elf since he had no answers.</p>
<p>Julia stared at them. "You really shouldn't have."</p>
<p>"But I did. So, please accept. I don't expect you'll need to use them anytime soon, but it's always better to be prepared just in case."</p>
<p>Julia continued to stare at them for a few seconds before she finally accepted, handing some over to her sister, who cradled them delicately in her hands for a moment before quietly storing them away in a small old pack slung across her back that looked barely able to hold itself together.</p>
<p>"Thanks, Lucifer," Julia said after she carefully put away her own supplies into an identical backpack to her sister's. Then she set her jaw and gave him a determined look. "But next time, we're buying our own stuff. Got it?"</p>
<p>Lucifer chuckled. "Very well."</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
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<p> </p>
<p>The Warehouse District of Oldaven was located in the southwestern quadrant of the city, with wider roads made of paved stone to accommodate the heavy commercial traffic. Carts and wagons of all shapes and sizes flowed in and out of the district at almost all hours of the day, save for the darkest parts of night.</p>
<p>There were dozens of large warehouses, and in between each of the biggest ones were several smaller ones, all owned by various merchants, nobles, and organizations that conducted business in the city. Because of all the traffic, as well as the large number of goods and valuables both stored and passing through here, the City Guard patrolled regularly and vigilantly. In addition, each warehouse had their own security, making it one of the safest districts in Oldaven.</p>
<p>Three such security guards were standing in front of the entrance to one of the smaller warehouses when Lucifer and the girls arrived at the designated location for the job.</p>
<p>"Hi!" Julia greeted with a skip and a wave, flashing a friendly smile as she continued to make for the door without even stopping.</p>
<p>The guards briefly looked at each other with confusion, then one of them growled, "Hey! Stop right there!"</p>
<p>Lucifer almost facepalmed.</p>
<p>"What do you think you're doing?" asked the guard as Julia thankfully came to a halt in between them. The two guards nearest to the door slid closer towards it, blocking the way. They all eyed the well-armored Lucifer warily.</p>
<p>"Who are you? What's your business here?" said another of the guards, a polished axe held at the ready.</p>
<p>"My name's Julia," answered the young girl readily, then pointed to her companions. "And that's my sister Janna. And he's called Lucifer. We're a party from the Adventurer's Guild and we're here on a mission."</p>
<p>"Adventurers?" The guards exchanged looks again.</p>
<p>One of them piped up. "Oi, didn't the boss say he was going to hire some of 'em to get rid of those vermin down below?"</p>
<p>"Oh yeah. . . I do remember him saying something about that." The first guard rubbed his beard thoughtfully. "So that'll be you, then?"</p>
<p>"Yep!" Julia smiled, pointing to the plate hanging from her neck. "See?"</p>
<p>"Right, right. We can see you've got the plates, sure enough. You got some papers on you from the Guild?"</p>
<p>"Oh! Right. I almost forgot," Julia said as she shrugged off her pack and searched through it.</p>
<p>"You <em>did </em>forget. . . no almost about it. . ." muttered Lucifer with amusement, though nobody could hear him.</p>
<p>Julia pulled out a rolled piece of parchment that the Guild clerk had given them before they left. It was an official statement informing the client of the party's official acceptance of the job contract, near the bottom of which was stamped the Guild seal for authenticity. She handed it to the guard.</p>
<p>"Alright. Everything seems to be in order. Let me take you in to see the boss before you start."</p>
<p>The boss turned out to be a middle-aged man with a long face and shrewd dark eyes. A thick chestnut mustache draped over his lips, making Lucifer wonder how he managed to eat or drink without getting any hair in his mouth. According to the clerk, the client's name was Berland Sellive. A merchant.</p>
<p>Berland eyed them critically as they entered his office on the second floor, one side of which was dominated by one long window that provided a clear view of the expansive storage space beyond filled with crates and wares and men at work. He sat behind a simple wooden desk, dark enough to be almost black, and upon which sat a sizable amount of paperwork and a mug of something steaming.</p>
<p>"Hi there!" Julia greeted the man enthusiastically, standing in front of Lucifer. Janna waited by the door.</p>
<p>"Hmph," grunted Berland, and before Julia could say anything else, the girl already partway through opening her mouth, he spoke. "I'm a busy man so let's keep this brief. You're here about the job I posted to the Guild, and they sent you here, so I expect you to be more than up to the task. Regardless of how you may. . . look." He glanced at the girls, before his gaze settled on Lucifer.</p>
<p>Julia's brow furrowed and she crossed her arms, while Janna tried to look as small as possible while still remaining on her feet. Lucifer was unimpressed by the man's words but said nothing. He didn't want to prolong their interaction any more than necessary.</p>
<p>"As included in the details of the job, we have a particularly troublesome vermin problem that started a week ago, and now it's all we can do to keep them at bay down below. I've already lost a few men to illness and injury because of those rats, and it's affecting business. The City Guard claim that pest control is not their job, so I've turned to you. Get rid of all those damned rats if you would, and if you do it in a timely manner I may even toss in a bonus. One of the guards can show you where you need to go. Now get to work."</p>
<p>With the last bit said dismissively, Berland proceeded to focus his attention solely on the papers in front of him, acting as if they had already left.</p>
<p>Lucifer placed a hand on Julia's shoulder, noting the glare she was throwing Berland's way. A glare that the man was easily ignoring. Lucifer could tell that Julia wanted to give the man a piece of her mind, and was merely formulating what she wanted to say, but there was no time for that. And the man was unlikely to change his opinion of them for the better either, so it was pointless.</p>
<p>"Come on, Julia. Time to get to work," he said firmly, and she reluctantly followed him out the door without saying anything else.</p>
<p> </p>
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<p> </p>
<p>The basement level of the warehouse was dimly lit and damp, with the air smelling something foul intermixed with the iron scent of blood and the salt of sweat. There were four guards posted in the room that the stairs descended into, and the only set of doors to the rest of the basement had been barricaded and patched several times over.</p>
<p>Apparently, the rats kept trying to chew their way through, and even as Lucifer and company arrived, they could hear the scraping and squeaking of the vermin beyond. The guards looked haggard, with dark circles beneath their eyes and frowns tugging heavy on their lips. They sported a few blood-soaked bandages, and the floor and walls had several layers of splattered blood too. They regarded the newcomers with a mixture of nervousness and relief.</p>
<p>Julia crinkled her nose, covering it and her mouth with a hand. "What <em>is </em>that smell?" she complained. "Whose idea was it to do this job again?" she asked nobody in particular.</p>
<p>Janna looked downcast behind her, and were it not for Lucifer's superior hearing, he would not have heard her whisper an apology. One that the older sister did not hear.</p>
<p>Lucifer stepped towards the barricaded door, prompting the guards to tense, readying their weapons. He turned to the closest guard. "I take it these aren't ordinary rats?"</p>
<p>The man shook his head. "No, sir. Not at all. They're giant, rabid beasts. Some of 'em the size of dogs, they are. Though I think they shouldn't trouble you too much in that armor of yours."</p>
<p>"How many do you think there are?" Lucifer asked.</p>
<p>He shrugged. "Dunno, sir. Dozens, at least."</p>
<p>"Gotta be a hundred or so!" exclaimed another.</p>
<p>A brief silence followed as they couldn't decide if that was a reasonable estimate or not.</p>
<p>"It's not so bad facing one or two, maybe even three at a time. But when ten or more rush at you and swarm all over. . . it ain't pretty. And there's plenty enough of 'em for that," said another guard warily.</p>
<p>Something thudded loudly against the doors and then squealed, drawing their attention, and making everyone except Lucifer jump. The sound of claws scratching and teeth gnawing against wood sounded even louder. It sounded like they were going to break through again soon.</p>
<p>"What else is beyond the doors? Another hallway? More rooms? An open space?" Lucifer asked.</p>
<p>"A hallway with more doors, sir. There are several store rooms," answered a guard.</p>
<p>"And the rats, do you know where they're coming from?"</p>
<p>"One of the workers toppled a pile of heavy crates and tore a damned hole through one of the walls. Turns out there was a hollow space beyond, and the horrid smell came from beyond it. Then the rats showed up not long after."</p>
<p>"Sewage?"</p>
<p>The guard closest to Lucifer shrugged. "Maybe. We don't know for sure, sir. All we know is they're definitely coming from somewhere beyond that blasted broken wall."</p>
<p>"Has it been a constant stream of rats since it started? Or do they come in waves?"</p>
<p>"In waves, sir. Thankfully enough. Though it just so happens that they haven't broken through in a while, so it seems we're due another wave right about now."</p>
<p>"What a coincidence that we arrive just in time for that," Lucifer said, amused. He gave the guard a nod. "Thank you. You've been most helpful. Now how about you guys stand back over there by the foot of the stairs and give us some space to work with," he said to the guards. "We'll do our best to make sure none of them get past us, but I can't guarantee that none of them will get through, so you might have to deal with one or two. Sound good?"</p>
<p>The guards nodded and wordlessly moved as instructed, looking more than glad to be far away from the buckling door.</p>
<p>"What do we do?" asked Julia, her voice subdued. She eyed the barricaded doors warily.</p>
<p>Lucifer drew his two short swords, «<em>Judgement</em>» and «<em>Executioner</em>», their metals glowing in the dim light as soon as they were unsheathed. He didn't notice the awe with which the others in the room looked upon the exquisitely crafted blades, temporarily distracted from the unpleasant task ahead.</p>
<p>He hadn't expected there to be giant rats involved, so this might be a little more fun than he expected. When he saw the job description, it had merely said that there was a serious rat infestation that needed to be dealt with. Which, on the face of it, sounded terribly boring. And disgusting.</p>
<p>Now it was looking less boring, though definitely still disgusting.</p>
<p>"Get ready to fight," he answered her. "I'll try to draw their attention as much as possible since they have no hope of breaching my armor. Julia, any of them get past me, you kill it. I'm sure there will be more than a few to run by me. Janna supports us with long range magic attacks as best she can, but please be careful of your aim."</p>
<p>Janna, who had a hand over her mouth and nose as well, started to breathe heavily despite the foul-smelling air. "I. . . I can't. . . What if. . ."</p>
<p>Julia turned to her sister, her own breaths short and shallow as she held her sword with both hands. "You can do it, sis. Just remember all that practicing you've done. And our fight against those skeletons in the cemetery. I've seen you use your magic accurately. You know you can do it."</p>
<p>"But. . ."</p>
<p>"Janna," Lucifer called to her, and she flinched. "Don't worry about shooting too far ahead, then. If you have a clear shot at any that manage to get to Julia or any that go after you, then you focus on taking those rodents out instead. Okay?"</p>
<p>"O-Okay."</p>
<p>Lucifer sighed internally. He was going to have to figure out a way to train them up a bit more. It was going to be a long slog to higher ranks if every job was going to be like this. They needed more confidence, and confidence came with experience and training. Hopefully, they'd earn enough for them to get better equipment soon too.</p>
<p>Although, he supposed he could look through his inventory to see if there was anything there that they might be able to make use of. Something to think about for later. For now, there were rats to kill.</p>
<p>"Get ready," he said calmly. "I'm going to burst through the doors and surprise them by attacking first. Then we hold them here until we kill the whole wave, or they run. We'll figure out how to stop them for good afterwards."</p>
<p>"We're ready," Julia announced from behind him.</p>
<p>Crouching, Lucifer bent forward and crossed his arms in front of himself, swords pointing towards the ceiling and framing his head. He took a deep breath, then he lurched forward and launched himself with speed at the doors, arms swinging out as his blades sliced through the barricade and the doors and the rats beyond.</p>
<p>Squeals of pain and death erupted as he exploded through the doors in a shower of broken and splintered wood, blood arcing through the air as a few rats on the other side of the door found themselves cut in bloody halves. The force of his abrupt entrance knocked several more of the giant rats back into the dark hallway, and the small army of rats beyond were momentarily stunned. There had to be at least fifty or sixty, he thought.</p>
<p>They were filthy creatures, giant rodents the size of small dogs with ugly matted fur and even uglier faces. Their eyes gleamed red, their fangs jagged and sharp like tiny wolves with claws sharp as talons. Long fat tails trailed behind each one of them, like giant worms protruding from their butts.</p>
<p>"Wow. You guys are definitely not going to be in any Disney movies," he joked, gleaming swords at the ready. "And not just because you'll all be dead soon."</p>
<p>Recovering from their shock, the rats surged forward in a torrent of angry screeches and murderous squeaks.</p>
<p> </p>
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<p> </p>
<p>Julia's mouth was agape as she watched Lucifer blow through the barricaded doors with ease, forgetting to breathe for a moment. She stared as he stood confidently, swords glowing at his sides, framed by the doorway against the dark hallway that stretched beyond.</p>
<p>Then the rats came. Bigger than she expected, and the very sight of them made her shiver and recoil in disgust. They swarmed around Lucifer, who easily dispatched several at once with each slash of his blades. Despite their numbers, Lucifer continued to stand tall and unaffected. As predicted, none of them could get past his armor, and he did not bother with protecting himself.</p>
<p>Perhaps realizing the futility of their assault on the armored man, some of the rats turned and ran past him, heading straight for Julia.</p>
<p>Julia breathed again, inhaling the terrible stench that filled the air and burned her nostrils. She coughed, doubling over and momentarily vulnerable as a rat launched itself at her face with claws outstretched and fangs bared.</p>
<p>"[Magic Arrow]!" cried Janna from the back, and a bolt of magical energy shot through and pierced through the would-be attacker. Blood spurted from the wound as it squealed and fell dead.</p>
<p>Julia had no time to thank her sister, nor compliment her impeccable aim, as she recovered enough to strike at the next rat with her sword. The edge of her blade bit through the furry rodent easily enough, ending its life abruptly. And then she swung her sword around at the next big rat to come close enough.</p>
<p>Thankfully, the rats did not seem to be terribly smart, and so were easy enough to kill in small numbers despite their size. Just as the guard had mentioned earlier. And with Janna supporting her, it was almost as easy as the skeletons in the graveyard.</p>
<p>Two jumped at her simultaneously, and she was forced to swing at them. Her blade sliced one in half mid-air while the other barely missed her as she took a step back, though one of its claws managed to rake her arm. She hissed, feeling the burn as her skin opened up and bled in long lines.</p>
<p>"[Magic Arrow]!" Again, Janna managed to take care of another rat, this time the one that had wounded her, though the younger girl quickly followed with an, "Are you okay, Julia?"</p>
<p>"I'm fine!" she managed to say as she struck at another of the pesky rodents, although this time she was only able to wound it, forcing it back momentarily as its brethren lunged at her. "Just concentrate on killing these things!" she cried as she was forced to retreat a few paces.</p>
<p>Perhaps gaining some more confidence with her successful strikes, Janna began to shoot more frequently, and once Julia got into some semblance of rhythm with her strikes and her dodging, it did not take long before all was quiet.</p>
<p>Panting, and with each breath feeling the burn of the nauseatingly smelly air, Julia looked over at Janna and was pleased to see that the girl was unharmed.</p>
<p>"Is it over?" Janna whispered.</p>
<p>Julia glanced towards Lucifer, who stood in the hallway beyond with his swords already sheathed. He seemed to be inspecting the small mountain of dead rats that surrounded him. "I think so," she said at last, wiping the blood off her sword with a rag from her pocket before sheathing it.</p>
<p>Janna let out a long breath and rushed over to her. "You're hurt," the younger girl noted with a frown.</p>
<p>"Yeah," Janna said as she felt the numerous cuts and scrapes on her skin stinging. "Nothing serious, though. No need to worry." She hissed and recoiled as Janna apparently touched one of the wounds, the wound burning like hot coals pressed against her skin. "What was that for?" she snapped angrily, gritting her teeth.</p>
<p>Janna flinched. "Sorry. They look painful. . . We should patch you up," she suggested quietly.</p>
<p>"Alright, fine," Julia said with a slight shrug. The wounds did sting and throb with every beat of her heart, but she could manage the pain.</p>
<p>Janna was already rummaging through her bag for the healing supplies that Lucifer had gotten them earlier. They were actually going to make use of them much sooner than either of them expected. She handed her a healing potion, which Julia refused to take.</p>
<p>"No way. We're not using that now," said Julia adamantly. "I'll be fine. Just help me bandage my wounds and put the healing salves if you're so worried about infection. That potion cost two silver, you know, and this isn't something we should waste on little wounds like these."</p>
<p>Janna frowned but returned the potion to her bag, taking out the bandages and salves instead. She raised them up for Julia to see, and the older girl nodded with approval.</p>
<p>"Thanks," Julia said as Janna set about attending to her wounds as gently as she could. Despite her care, however, Julia hissed and grimaced while she worked.</p>
<p>The guards ended up not doing much of anything except watching the carnage as the adventurers handily took care of the rats, with none of the vermin getting past them. They all looked quite relieved about that and were definitely more relaxed now that the immediate threat was dealt with. One of them approached the two girls.</p>
<p>"It's good that you're treating the wounds right away," said the guard, "We made the mistake of waiting too long before, and some of us ended up ill because the wounds quickly festered and got infected. The vermin carry some kind of disease with them, we think."</p>
<p>Julia could sense the growing worry in her younger sister and felt some worry herself, though she did not show it. "I'll be fine, Janna," she whispered to her sister, then addressed the guard in a louder voice, "Are they okay now? Your friends."</p>
<p>The guard nodded. "Yes, miss. Last time I checked they oughta be fine. They're being tended to at the Temple, thank the Gods."</p>
<p>"That's a relief." The thought of potentially getting sick from such simple injuries was unsettling, but it was nice to know that it was treatable should she end up actually falling ill herself.</p>
<p>"Pardon my asking, miss," said the guard hesitantly, "But who is that man with you?" He gestured towards the hallway where Lucifer had disappeared into. They could not see him at the moment, for it appeared he had gone deeper into the cellars.</p>
<p>"His name is Lucifer," she answered with a shrug, unsure of what else to say. There was not much she knew about him that she could share with the guard. "Why do you ask?"</p>
<p>"It's just hard to believe he's but a mere Copper plate with his equipment and skills, so I thought perhaps he was someone of renown. Though I don't recognize the name," replied the guard. Then he waved apologetically with his hands, "Sorry, not meaning any offense to you two or anything of the sort. You did well yourselves."</p>
<p>Julia gave him a reassuring smile to show that she was not offended. In fact, she silently agreed. The gap between them in skill and experience was too great to even consider closing, and she wondered once again why he had chosen to party up with them. If he showed off his skills to the others in the Guild, she did not doubt the other adventurer parties would all be scrambling to add him to their ranks.</p>
<p>So why party up with two barely skilled and inexperienced girls? Not that she was complaining.</p>
<p>Lucifer returned to them after a little while, his armor absolutely covered in blood and guts. If they did not know any better, they might have thought him to be some dark undead knight come from the darkest depths of the earth. It took a lot for Julia not to turn away in disgust.</p>
<p>"Are you alright?" he asked Julia as he approached, and she nodded.</p>
<p>"I'll be fine. Just a few scratches."</p>
<p>"All done," Janna said softly as she tightened one last bandage, making Julia grunt with pain. She got to her feet and stepped back, taking a look at Lucifer for a moment before quickly turning away and making some retching sounds.</p>
<p>Julia quickly reached over to rub a hand on her sister's back.</p>
<p>"So, what happens now?" she asked. They were told to get rid of the rats, and they appeared to have done so. Technically, they could just go back and consider the job done, but she had a feeling the job was far from over.</p>
<p>The guard looked to Lucifer with great interest.</p>
<p>"I checked all the other rooms down here and there doesn't seem to be any other rats for now," Lucifer said, "But I found that collapsed wall that they're using to get in here. We should investigate what's beyond it. See if we can figure out where exactly they're coming from and why they keep coming here. Stop them from coming back for good. Is that okay with you two?"</p>
<p>Julia grinned eagerly through the dull aching of her wounds. "You think the merchant will give us that bonus?"</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0015"><h2>15. Chapter 15</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"If I never see another rat again in my life, it would be too soon," declared Julia as the party passed through the busy streets of Oldaven on the way back to the Guild Hall.</p><p>"I couldn't agree more," Lucifer said.</p><p>There had been a whole cave full of giant rats beneath the warehouse and clearing it out had been a messy affair. When they returned from beyond the collapsed wall, they were absolutely covered in rodent blood and guts, looking more like shambling corpses than people. The girls had been particularly distressed about it.</p><p>"I'm glad they were ready for us with those buckets of water when we got out of that cave. We were able to wash off most of the muck right away," he added. The guards and workers had been well-prepared for their return. Had it been their own initiative, or had the warehouse manager instructed them?</p><p>"They probably didn't want us to track all that grossness through their warehouse," said Julia, scrunching her nose up. "Didn't really wash off all the stench though. We smell like something awful."</p><p>Lucifer noticed that the people of Oldaven were giving them a wide berth as they walked through the city. The smell that wafted around the party really was quite repulsive. A tang of iron mixed with the stench of rot and disease.</p><p>Julia ran her fingers through her still-damp hair, searching out tiny clumps and chunks that had nestled in. "At least you had a helmet and full armor on. None of the gunk really got on you or into your hair like it did ours," she said. She fished out a small chunk of rodent flesh from her hair and threw it on the ground with a splat. "Ugh, gross! This is going to take forever to get out. I'll be in the bath for hours!"</p><p>"Nothing wrong with a good soak in a bath," said Lucifer, glancing down at his armor. It looked clean, but there might have been some bits that did not wash out in the places he could not see.</p><p>Baths were always something he appreciated. A shower was good too, of course, and usually much quicker. More efficient. But soaking in a tub full of comfortably hot water was better when you needed to relax and unwind. There was a reason hot tubs were often considered a luxury.</p><p>Julia regarded him thoughtfully. "Maybe for you," she said, "But our bath isn't exactly nice. Besides, I don't like it when my skin gets all pruney. It just feels so weird." She stared at her palms and ran her thumbs over the tips of her fingers, some of which were wrapped with small bandages.</p><p>There were dozens of fresh bandages across her exposed skin, the wounds beneath courtesy of the now deceased rats. Thankfully, neither of the girls had been seriously injured in the fighting. Whether that was by luck or by skill, it was hard to say. Perhaps it was a little bit of both.</p><p>"I heard there's a spell for cleaning things…" Janna said quietly, almost as if she had verbalized her thoughts aloud by accident.</p><p>Julia spun around to face her. "Really? What's the spell? Do you know it? Why didn't you say anything about it before?"</p><p>Even Lucifer was intrigued, sparing a curious glance at the young mage. YGGDRASIL had no such spell that he was aware of, but there were thousands of spells so he might have simply overlooked it. He had not bothered to learn every single one. Even if there was such a spell, what use was it in a fight against monsters or other players? Though in this world, as he had discovered, his <strong>[</strong>Item Restoration<strong>]</strong> spell could technically be used for cleaning.</p><p>With that thought in mind, he eyed the girls' worn and tattered equipment. Their light leather armor pieces were damaged to the point that he doubted there would be that much of a difference if they stopped wearing them altogether. It was certainly within his power to completely repair their equipment, but he figured it was not worth the effort for such poor-quality items. Much better for them to buy new gear.</p><p>Janna ducked her head in shame, mumbling, "No… sorry… I don't actually know the spell… I just heard that it exists…"</p><p>Deflated, Julia shrugged. "Oh, well that makes sense. You wouldn't have kept something like that to yourself if you <em>did</em> know how to use it. But if you <em>could</em> learn that spell sometime…" she trailed off hopefully.</p><p>"I can try," replied the younger girl uncertainly.</p><p>Julia beamed at her, mood instantly shifting. "Awesome! I know you'll do your best!" she exclaimed with encouragement.</p><p>Janna could only nod in silence.</p><p>"Now what do you want to eat for dinner?" Julia asked her sister out of the blue. "With the bonus the merchant gave us on top of the job reward, we can definitely eat whatever we want tonight to celebrate our first successful job as adventurers!"</p><p>"You're hungry?" asked Lucifer, amused. "I thought all the blood and guts would have killed your appetite for a while."</p><p>Julia looked at him incredulously. "Of course, I'm hungry! After all that hard work, who wouldn't be?"</p><p>Lucifer shrugged. "I'm not." Though he did not say it was probably because he was no longer technically human and therefore not subject to the same biological needs as them. At least as far as he could tell.</p><p>"What about you, sis? Are you hungry?" Julia asked, turning to her.</p><p>The younger girl nodded again. "A little."</p><p>She spun back around to Lucifer. "See? I'm not the only one."</p><p>"But Julia <em>is</em> always hungry…" Janna mentioned softly, the ghost of a smile on her lips.</p><p>Julia spun again, this time staring wide-eyed at her sister for a moment, betrayed, before looking away and crossing her arms. "Wow. Are you both trying to tell me I eat too much? I'm still growing, okay? That's why... And you're one to talk!" She suddenly pointed accusingly at Janna. "You eat just as much as I do!"</p><p>Janna's head whipped up. "No, I don't!" she said loud enough to be considered a yell, at least for her. Though it was closer to a normal volume of speaking. Perhaps realizing this, she turned a bright shade of pink immediately afterwards and returned to keeping her head down.</p><p>Even Julia was a bit taken back. "W-Well, okay then. But you at least eat as often as I do!"</p><p>"But not as much." Janna was back to her quiet voice.</p><p>"Fine! I admit that I eat more than you do, but I'm also bigger than you, so that's why. And it's not for any other reason like I'm fat or anything," Julia huffed, puffing out her cheeks.</p><p>Lucifer chuckled. "You're not fat at all. Where did you even get that notion?"</p><p>Julia narrowed her eyes at him. "You're just saying that to be nice since I mentioned it."</p><p>"Regardless of why I said it, it's the truth," he said with some mirth. She was really getting all worked up over nothing.</p><p>She turned her nose up and looked away. "Hmph! You know what? I guess we won't have a big dinner tonight after all," she decided suddenly.</p><p>Janna stared at her in genuine dismay. "Wait, that's not—"</p><p>"In fact, we can just wait until tomorrow to eat something since we apparently eat too much!"</p><p>"Juliaaa…" Janna whined.</p><p>Julia shook her head and ignored the younger girl's pleas as she walked far enough ahead that it would be difficult to hold any further conversation without catching up to her first.</p><p>Lucifer smiled, not that anyone could see it beneath his visor. "Are you and your sister usually like this at home?"</p><p>Janna, still pink from her outburst earlier, quickly turned red and hastened to walk beside her sister. Presumably, she was going to try and talk some sense into the girl.</p><p>Speaking of home, he looked up at the sky and wondered how Bezaliel was doing on his scouting mission. He had sent out the Angel of Shadows to scour the Frostpeak Mountains to the north for a good spot to establish a base of operations. Somewhere hidden, defensible, and easy to expand upon.</p><p>He considered messaging the angel to check-in but decided to wait until Bezaliel reported back on his own. The last thing he wanted to do was to come off as impatient or micromanaging. He preferred not to annoy the angel, especially since he had yet to find out if they could somehow turn against him. Besides, it had not been that long since he sent the angel out, so he should give Bezaliel more time.</p><p>Wherever they ended up settling on though, hopefully they would be able to build some proper baths.</p><p> </p><p>
  <strong>x=x=X=x=x</strong>
</p><p> </p><p>Sir Black dismounted his horse, boots crunching heavily on gravel as he landed.</p><p>Behind him, three soldiers who were now his official bodyguards also dismounted. One of them helped the elf girl down after having ridden along. Normally, slaves would not be treated so nicely, and they would have been tied to the horses and been forced to walk behind, but this slave was to be a gift for Lord Rubeon.</p><p>He had already made the girl suffer enough, and he did not want to break her before he presented her to his lord. The lord's mansion was far enough away from the knight's home that she would have arrived sweaty, tired, and with blisters on her feet. Suffice it to say, she would not have been in any condition to be offered up to a noble lord, so she was allowed to ride with one of the soldiers.</p><p>After the harrowing events of the night the stranger with the golden eyes had intruded upon his home, Sir Black had taken out his anger and humiliation on the elf. Her screams of pain and pleas for mercy had gone a long way to improving his mood and restoring his confidence.</p><p>She deserved the punishment, of course. She had left him alone and asleep in that tub, and maybe she even colluded with the stranger to get him into that state. All things that she denied, not that it mattered. Thankfully, he had enough presence of mind to not go overboard, and the healers were able to fix her injuries well enough.</p><p>Then he had gone out and selected six of his better soldiers to act as his bodyguards. Three were to be stationed at his home at all times, while the other three followed him around wherever he went. He was unsure of how effective they would be against his foe, powerful as they seemed, but at the very least they should serve as enough of a distraction for him to either get away or to move in for a decisive strike.</p><p>The lord's mansion was a decent size, not overly large but at least four times bigger than Sir Black's own home. A few of the guards stationed outside saluted to him as he passed, fists banging against their chest plates. He barely acknowledged them.</p><p>He found Lord Rubeon in his study, already going over a stack of paperwork with his steward, an old and wrinkled man with thin white hair and a stooped back. His name was Galdo. The aged steward never took a liking to Black, not that the knight cared much, but they at least remained peacefully civil in front of the lord. He wondered how much the steward had said to their lord about the attack.</p><p>Lord Rubeon himself was old enough that his once dark hair was now all but gray, with thick silver brows over puffy brown eyes. He was large and tall, with big hands and a thick neck, although his voice was strangely high for his hefty size. The man had been a strong warrior in his younger days, but the soft years of lordship had slowly eroded his musculature until he was now more fat than muscle, not that anyone would say that to his face.</p><p>The pair looked up at Sir Black's arrival, and the knight immediately bowed at the waist, waiting to be acknowledged.</p><p>"Black!" greeted Lord Rubeon with a smile that stretched the many lines on his face. "You've finally shown your face."</p><p>"Sir Black," added Galdo, stiffly formal as usual.</p><p>"My lord," said the knight respectfully. "Steward Galdo." He stood straight. "I'm sorry I wasn't here to greet you upon your return, lord. I was only made aware of your arrival a short while ago. I was under the impression that you were scheduled to return here tomorrow." His gaze settled on the steward, who no doubt had withheld the change of schedule from him, but Galdo's face was undecipherable.</p><p>Lord Rubeon's smile widened, eyes alight with excitement. "Yes, well things are moving quickly in the capital. I was told to return here with all haste so as to play my part in things to come."</p><p>"Beg pardon, lord," Galdo spoke in a raspy voice, "If you'd permit, I'd like to get started on the things we discussed right away. If we are to keep to the schedule…"</p><p>"Of course, of course. Go on, Galdo. Keep me updated on everything," said Lord Rubeon with a dismissive wave of his hand.</p><p>The old steward bowed low and then walked out of the room, barely sparing another glance at the knight.</p><p>"You and Galdo are still getting along swimmingly, I see," remarked the lord with a raised brow.</p><p>Sir Black shrugged. "I have no problems with the steward," he said flatly.</p><p>"Good." Lord Rubeon smiled again. He motioned towards one of the chairs in front of his desk. "Now sit and give me your report. What's happened since I've been gone?"</p><p> </p><p>
  <strong>x=x=X=x=x</strong>
</p><p> </p><p>After collecting their earnings from the Guild, Lucifer's party picked their next job – a request to help deliver some packages to various locations on the outskirts of the city that had Lucifer wondering if courier services even existed in this world – and then briefly argued over how to split the money. Something they probably should have decided before taking their first job.</p><p>Julia wanted to do an even fifty-fifty split between the girls and Lucifer, but he was against that even though he would earn more money with Julia's suggestion. Instead, he suggested it would only be fair to split their earnings into thirds, which sparked a debate between the two of them.</p><p>Janna was mostly a silent witness, not wanting to get involved in the arguing, though Lucifer guessed that she was leaning towards Julia's view.</p><p>Eventually, Lucifer won out and they agreed to split the money evenly so that each member of the party received an equal share. Julia was clearly not thrilled about it. She thought Lucifer deserved more because he was clearly better skilled and more experienced and was likely going to do the bulk of the work, as he had done with the giant rats.</p><p>He understood her logic, of course, but he could not help but feel that the girls needed the money more than he did at the moment. Besides, once they made it to the higher ranks and bigger jobs, it would not be such a big deal anymore since their shares would be decent enough. In addition, he did not want to feel like he was taking advantage of the girls by taking the lion's share of the pot, so to speak.</p><p>Julia also ended up changing her mind about having dinner after calming down, much to Janna's relief, and even invited Lucifer to join them. He declined though, saying that he would join them next time because he had pressing matters to attend to, and they parted ways after agreeing to meet the next morning for the job they signed up for.</p><p>Once he got away from any prying eyes, he teleported high above the city just in time to watch the sun dip below the horizon, leaving behind a sky ablaze with brilliant hues of red and orange. Though it was not the reason he had transported himself up into the sky, he marveled at the view for a while, reminded of his new and exciting life in this strange and magical world.</p><p>Were sunsets always this beautiful? He could not remember the last time he had truly watched the setting sun in his old world.</p><p>That world was rife with pollution, rampant overdevelopment, and environmental exploitation and degradation. Most sunsets were tainted by haze and smog and obscured by towering buildings of metal and glass. That was, of course, assuming the dark clouds from the all too frequent storms did not completely block the view. Without a doubt, those sunsets paled in comparison to the one he was now witnessing.</p><p>After a while, as the light of day gradually faded and the fiery sky grew dark and cold, Lucifer turned his attention northward. There, twisting and bending south from the mountains and across the landscape towards the city, was the dark figure of the mighty Stonefrost River. At its closest point, the river was only a mile away from the city's Western Gate, where it curled around the city and continued southward unimpeded.</p><p>From where he was in the sky, Lucifer could see pinpricks of light from the few people who had settled along certain stretches of the river. But most of it was dark and undisturbed nature, and those places were excellent for testing out his powers in secret.</p><p>He already had a good grasp of his physical capabilities after several fights, both with humans and non-humans, though he could tell that he had yet to really exert himself fully. And while he had some idea of his magical capabilities, he needed to experiment further.</p><p>He had been putting it off for a while now since his arrival. After finishing his first quest in this new world, he felt too eager to wait any longer. Majestic wings unfurling behind him, Lucifer flew north away from the city and began to search along the river for what would essentially be his temporary training ground until he established his official base.</p><p>Despite the failing light, he could see clear as day, and it did not take him long before he was on the ground in the middle of a clearing on the western bank of the river. This part of the river cut through a small forest of trees that had sprouted amidst the fertile plains all around it. And at the heart of this small forest, he was sure to be unseen and undisturbed.</p><p>Though he was not foolish enough to leave anything to chance, of course.</p><p>"<strong>[</strong>Summon Elemental – Third Tier: Lesser Earth<strong>]</strong>."</p><p>These elementals were, as the name suggested, the weakest of their kind. They were normally around level 15 at most, depending on the summoner's skills, but because of his levels in his summoner classes, the ones he summoned were buffed up to level 20. Even then, they were basically low-level cannon fodder that he never used again once he passed level 50.</p><p>Lucifer felt the miniscule drop in his mana, which already started to regenerate, as the elemental took shape before him with the sound of crumbling rocks and shifting dirt.</p><p>Fully formed at about six feet in height, the elemental floated over the ground, making it look even taller. It was made entirely of various rocks and clumps of soil with a distinct chest, arms, and head. It looked like the upper half of a stone golem, except for the swirling pebbles and dirt that magically orbited its frame. With dark cracked holes for eyes, it groaned what was probably a greeting as it stared back at Lucifer, awaiting orders from its master.</p><p>Using the mental link between him and his summon, he ordered it to enclose the open area with earthen walls. The elemental let out a low growl of acknowledgement and then proceeded to raise its arms and spin around slowly as it worked its own magic.</p><p>The ground trembled and within seconds the earth along the edges of the clearing began to rise up until they were surrounded by a high wall about twelve feet high and three feet thick. Frightened birds took flight from the nearby trees, chirping and squawking in dismay at the commotion, and a few small animals hastily scampered away. Then all was quiet once more save for the constant sound of the river rushing by.</p><p>Lucifer smiled. "Excellent. Now I think we should add a pool over there," he said aloud, pointing towards the side closest to the river.</p><p>The elemental did not respond at all and they both remained still and silent for a few seconds. <em>Perhaps the instructions were too vague</em>, he thought. He repeated his words aloud once again, this time adding specific dimensions and instructions.</p><p>Finally, the elemental began to move, and in a matter of moments there was a circular pit thirty feet deep and twenty feet in diameter that was soon filling with roaring water from the river that it was now connected to via a small tunnel underground.</p><p>While the pool was swiftly filling up, Lucifer took the time to remove his armor and clothing. He used <strong>[</strong>Item Restoration<strong>]</strong> to completely clean everything before storing them all in his inventory and was soon standing completely naked in the dark.</p><p>Glancing at the lone earth elemental that floated idly nearby, and feeling a little paranoid all of a sudden, he decided to summon some wolves to patrol the surrounding area and make sure there was nobody lurking around.</p><p>Similar to when he summoned the snakes, he was able to summon a pack of ten adult wolves with the spell <strong>[</strong>Summon Beast – Second Tier: Wolves<strong>]</strong>.</p><p>They all had smooth dark brown fur and amber eyes that seemed to glow in the dark, similar to Lucifer's own golden ones. The pack sat and panted as one, staring at him eagerly with their tails wagging gently behind them.</p><p>"Patrol the area outside the walls and let me know if you find anyone out there," he said as he walked towards one and petted its head, scratching behind its ears. The wolf let out a pleased growl.</p><p>When he stepped back, the pack howled and split up as they rushed off in all directions. He watched them arrive at the base of the wall, where they started to run around, growling and whining as they were apparently trying to find a way through. It was far too high for them to jump over and far too steep for them to even begin to climb.</p><p>Grimacing at his own lack of foresight, Lucifer ordered the earth elemental to create holes through the walls just large enough for the wolves to comfortably use, and the pack was out patrolling soon enough.</p><p>With the pool full of water, Lucifer tested its temperature with his toe. It was cold. Almost too cold. But similar to his easy tolerance of whatever the temperature of the air around him, Lucifer discovered that his body did not react the same way a normal human's would to the temperature of the water.</p><p>Without a second thought, he jumped into the pool with a splash. The cold water engulfed him completely, and as he stayed beneath the surface of the pool, he did not shiver in the slightest. Completely aware of the near-freezing temperature of the water, and yet seemingly unaffected, he returned to the surface and wiped the excess water off his face.</p><p>With a slight frown while treading water, Lucifer wasn't sure how to feel about his body's lack of normal physical reactions to drastic temperatures. It was as if no matter the temperature outside his body, his own body stayed the same. The sensation was strange, knowing the water was frigid cold and yet not really <em>feeling</em> that cold physically.</p><p>On the one hand, it was great because it meant he would never truly feel burning hot or freezing cold, outside a detached mental acknowledgement of such conditions. He would never face debilitating shivering or the fear and pain of touching something that was burning hot. Or even the feeling of being drenched in sweat – as far as he could tell, he was not capable of sweating, which was great.</p><p>On the other hand, it meant he would never genuinely enjoy the warmth of a fire or of another's presence next to him on a cold night. He would never really experience the refreshing coolness of a cold bath after a long and tiring day beneath the hot summer sun. He would also never feel the relaxing heat of a hot spring or bath, or the relieving coolness of a breeze on a hot day. And that realization made him kind of sad.</p><p>Bringing his legs up and floating on his back along the surface of the pool, he stared up into the starry night sky. Maybe this new life was not entirely so good after all.</p><p> </p><p>
  <strong>x=x=X=x=x</strong>
</p><p> </p><p>"So, it's true, then. Someone actually dared attack us," said Lord Rubeon, leaning back in his chair. His lips twisted into a frown. "Have we been attacked again since?"</p><p>"No, lord. There was only that one incident," replied Sir Black, his thoughts turning to the visit he received at his home only recently. Technically, that was not an attack, so it did not count.</p><p>The noble sighed tiredly. "Well, the loss of a slave and a couple of men is nothing in the grand scheme of things. But I hope you've taken measures to punish those responsible?"</p><p>Sir Black swallowed hard and nodded slowly. "I have, lord." Technically also true, though the success of the measures were another matter.</p><p>"Good," said Lord Rubeon as he played with a golden ring on one of his long fingers. "I cannot stress enough the importance of the days ahead. We cannot afford any unnecessary delays or distractions. Make sure we're ready to repel any more attacks. Use whatever means necessary."</p><p>"I have already begun changing our patrol schedules and structures, lord. And I have doubled the training of the men. I assure you that we will be better prepared should another attack come."</p><p>The smile returned. "Good, good. I expected no less from you." He leaned forward, the excitement once again returning to his eyes. "Would you like to know what I've been tasked to do?"</p><p>Surprised, the knight replied, "I… cannot deny that I'm curious, lord."</p><p>Lord Rubeon was quickly on his feet and headed for the door. "Follow me," he said.</p><p>Sir Black breathed easier as the nervousness within him subsided. He had come here anticipating that the lord would respond more strongly than he did to the attack, but it seemed Lord Rubeon's mind was more preoccupied with other matters.</p><p>As they stepped out, Lord Rubeon paused and looked aside towards Sir Black's guards and the young elven slave, who all bowed in the lord's presence.</p><p>"What's this?" he asked.</p><p>Sir Black had almost forgotten about her. "She is a gift, my lord. For you."</p><p>"Is that so?" Lord Rubeon stepped towards the girl and with one of his big hands he grabbed her by the jaw, turning her head this way and that as he inspected her closely. The elf shut her eyes and let out a whimper but did not resist. Soon his hands traveled down her body for further inspection.</p><p>The nearby guards tried to pretend not to notice what was happening, shifting uneasily on their feet and not knowing what else to do.</p><p>"This was a good find, Black. An excellent find," Lord Rubeon noted with delight. "She must have cost you quite a sum."</p><p>This time, it was Sir Black's turn to smile. "Less than you might think, lord." He had expected Lord Rubeon to be pleased with the gift and he was glad to confirm that.</p><p>"She's from one of your… friends, then?"</p><p>"Yes, she is, lord." One of the perks of having connections to the criminal underworld.</p><p>"Thank you for this gift, Black. I shall put her to good use," said the lord, letting the elf go. Her eyes were damp with unshed tears and she sniffled, but somehow managed to contain herself for the time being. Perhaps worried that she would be punished for crying aloud in front of the master of this place.</p><p>Sir Black bowed his head. "You are most welcome, my lord."</p><p>Addressing one of the servants standing by in the hallway, Lord Rubeon ordered for the girl to be prepared and sent to his chambers when he called on her later. With that done, he led Sir Black away and they were soon descending into the basement of the mansion.</p><p>Most people, including the majority of those who lived and worked on the estate, had no idea that there were a number of tunnels and chambers dug into the earth beneath the estate. It had taken a considerable amount of slave labor over the course of a year to get it done, and all the work was done in secret.</p><p>The slaves who worked underground were brought in separately through Sir Black's contacts, leaving no paperwork trail. They arrived in the dead of night and, once they were put to work, they never again saw the light of day.</p><p>One of the tunnels connected via a secret doorway to the basement of the mansion, and it was through it that they now passed. Despite being one of the few aboveground who was aware of the existence of the tunnels, Sir Black had yet to actually explore it once it was finished. More importantly, he still had no idea what reason all of this was for.</p><p>Lit torches lined the walls, providing ample lighting as they navigated the tunnels. They turned a corner, and then another, before finally arriving at a set of heavy stone doors. Two guards stood at attention in front, and they quickly moved to open the doors as they approached, the sound of stone grating against stone echoing in the enclosed space.</p><p>Lord Rubeon swept an arm towards the opening door and smiled at the knight. "This is where the magic will happen," he said gleefully.</p><p>Beyond the doors was a large square chamber with a massive brazier in each of its four corners. The braziers were cold and lifeless for now, but there were piles of wood in each one ready to be burned.</p><p>Smaller standing torches lit the walkway that led from the doors to the center of the room, where a raised stone dais was surrounded by strange horned statues that looked like demons. As they drew closer, Sir Black confirmed that they were indeed demons. On the dais was what looked to be some kind of stone table or altar, and on top of that was a stand for an eerie red and violet orb.</p><p>Looking at it made the already chill air feel colder, and Sir Black averted his gaze quickly, though not quick enough to avoid shivering. There was something really wrong with that orb. He tried not to think about it.</p><p>Trying to focus on anything else, he further studied the chamber. Around the raised platform were several pits about three feet deep, and all around the chamber were grooves and channels that seemed to cover almost every surface on the floor.</p><p>All in all, it looked exactly like the kind of room in which cult rituals were performed. Sir Black had always had his suspicions, of course, but to actually see it for himself, there was now no question in his mind that Lord Rubeon was involved with some dark cult. The question was, which one?</p><p>It was then that he noticed something peculiar as he swept the chamber once more with his gaze.</p><p>Against the wall on the far end of the chamber, looking rather out of place and hidden in the shadows, was what looked to be a big statue of a man leaning on a fittingly large warhammer. And as Sir Black stared at it, trying to make it out clearer in the dim light, he could have sworn that it looked familiar. He wanted to take a closer look, but as he stepped towards it, Lord Rubeon spoke and drew his attention.</p><p>"I'm sure you have many questions," said Lord Rubeon as he walked around the dais, eyes fixated on the knight. "And they will be answered soon enough, I assure you. But until then, all you need to know is that it is from here that we will help bring about great change to our beloved Empire. It is from here that we will help usher a new chapter in history."</p><p>Instinct told Sir Black that the noble was by no means exaggerating, yet he had a hard time believing that whatever was to happen here would be able to affect the Empire, let alone the world, as much as Lord Rubeon claimed. The knight hesitated, then mustering his resolve he said, "What do you need of me, my lord?"</p><p>Lord Rubeon smiled again, and with the dim light of the ritual chamber casting shadows across his face, it looked incredibly sinister.</p><p> </p><p>
  <strong>x=x=X=x=x</strong>
</p><p> </p><p>It was getting late by the time Lucifer left the newly established training yard. He had tested out several more summons – both natural and unnatural – and they all worked pretty much how they did in YGGDRASIL. Except they were actually lifelike this time around and had limited consciousness that he could mentally feel and connect with using the summoner-summon bond.</p><p>He also played around with some more of his spells, most notably <strong>[</strong>Create Item<strong>]</strong> and <strong>[</strong>Create Greater Item<strong>]</strong>.</p><p>Like he had discovered before, with these two spells he technically could create almost anything he could think of. However, he found that his powers of creation were seriously limited by two things: his imagination and his knowledge.</p><p>First of all, his imagination had to be focused and strong in order to picture what he wanted to create in his mind, though he did discover that the picture did not necessarily have to be perfect. It only had to be good enough, and presumably his subconscious filled in the rest. The more complex the object, the harder it was for him to picture well in his mind's eye, and the more likely it was for the spell to fail.</p><p>Even with the challenges posed by his imagination, the more limiting variable turned out to be his knowledge. Or more specifically, his knowledge of how things worked. The more complicated an object he wanted to create, the more he had to understand how it actually functioned in order for the spell to successfully bring it to life, so to speak.</p><p>Simple objects were easy enough. Things like ceramics or silverware, or even furniture. Things with few parts, essentially. But when he tried to create more complex items with plenty of pieces and parts, many of which had to work in specific ways, like guns or machines, the objects ended up materializing, but they did not work like they should.</p><p>On the outside, these objects looked exactly like the ones he was trying to recreate, but once he took them apart, he discovered that their insides were either incorrect or incomplete. He supposed that in some ways it made sense that this would be a serious limitation on such an ability, what would have been called game-breaking in YGGDRASIL, yet he could not help feeling disappointed that he would not be able to create computers, robots, or vehicles from his old world.</p><p>At least not anytime soon.</p><p>Lucifer was no engineer. Neither was he extensively knowledgeable about science. It would likely take considerable time and effort on his part to study and research how to successfully create complex items, and he was not about to shut himself away for who knew how long just so that he could materialize things from his old world. Perhaps someday far in the future he would feel inclined to go down that path, but for now he would have to shelve this particular project and be content with producing simpler items.</p><p>On the plus side, he was able to confirm that his summons could use any of the items that he created, so long as he provided the proper instructions. Once again, he had summoned a band of skeleton warriors and, after having the earth elemental make a proper stone gate, he ordered them to use some shovels he created to dig a trench along the outside of the walls.</p><p>It would have been a simple matter for the earth elemental to do on its own, but this was a test of both the duration of the summon spell, to check if it was any different than it was in YGGDRASIL, and to see what happened with the summons over time after being given such a command.</p><p>As a secondary objective, this was also a test to see what would happen with his magically created items over time. Did these items have a time limit? What would happen if they got damaged? Would they degrade over time? These were but some of the questions he hoped to answer with this experiment.</p><p>He even left the wolves and the earth elemental there with instructions to alert him to any potential intruders, and to drive them off if they got too close. Though he did command one wolf to run as far and as fast as it could northward to see if there were any limits to the range of the link between summoner and summon, and to also test the endurance of his summoned animals. They were ordinary wolves made flesh by magic, so it stood to reason that they had physical limits. That was his theory, at least.</p><p>When Lucifer appeared out of thin air in the dark alley behind The Rose Moon Inn, dressed in his fine gold-lined white robes, he could still feel the faint presence of each summon at the edge of his consciousness. He could even feel the mana reserved to sustain the items he had created.</p><p>Satisfied that he should be able to sense the disappearance of his summons once their spells expired, he quickly made his way around to the front where he was surprised to find Otto on his way out.</p><p>Lucifer did not think the big innkeeper ever left the premises, particularly because he was the only one working at the inn. If Otto was leaving, who was there to deal with customers? Few that there were.</p><p>"My cousin, Karlan, who I believe you've already met," replied Otto to the question Lucifer posed as they both stood in the street. "He helps me once in a while when he's off-duty from the City Guard so I can go out and… deal with other matters." The big man looked away uncomfortably.</p><p>Lucifer's curiosity was piqued but he thought better than to ask for specifics. Though in that moment he wished he could read minds. "How long will you be gone?"</p><p>"Don't you worry," Otto said with a short laugh. "I'm not leaving the inn for long. I'll be back tomorrow evening, just in time to cook you another subpar supper."</p><p>Lucifer held his gaze. "Your cooking isn't bad," he said truthfully.</p><p>"Ha! But it ain't good now, is it?" Otto slapped his own thigh, looking thoroughly amused before getting a hold of himself. Clearing his throat, he said, "Look, I'd like to stay and chat, but I… really oughta be going."</p><p>"Of course," Lucifer said with an apologetic smile. "Don't' let me keep you. Have a good evening, Otto."</p><p>With a grunt and a half-hearted wave, Otto lumbered off, leaving Lucifer staring after him until he disappeared around a corner.</p><p>Karlan, standing behind the bar as naturally as if he were Otto himself, was indeed the City Guardsman at the Eastern Gate who had directed Lucifer to the inn when he first arrived at Oldaven. The big guard recognized Lucifer immediately when he walked in.</p><p>"I'm glad you decided to stay here, sir," Karlan said honestly, "I know it isn't exactly the best place to stay, but…"</p><p>"You were just trying to help your cousin out," Lucifer finished the thought for him.</p><p>Karlan nodded, embarrassed. "Aye."</p><p>"I don't mind the place," Lucifer spoke truthfully as he cast his gaze about the room. "It's very affordable, which is what I was looking for. Though it could stand to be cleaned and fixed up a little."</p><p>Karlan laughed, scratching the back of his head. "I can't argue with that."</p><p>"Why doesn't your cousin fix it up some more? And maybe hire someone else to help him out while he's at it?"</p><p>"It's… complicated," responded Karlan in a tone that said he was not going to explain why. "Besides, I'm sure you can tell that money is a bit tight for my cousin. I've mentioned pitching in more to help Otto out, to get this place back on its feet, but the stubborn bastard refuses me every time."</p><p>"He does seem like the sort who doesn't want to rely on others for help," noted Lucifer.</p><p>"Aye. Not for free, at least. Not even from his own blood." Karlan took a deep breath and leaned forward with his palms flat on the counter. "But that's enough of that talk. My cousin told me about your arrangement. I reckon you'd want your meals for the day before you head up to your room."</p><p>Lucifer understood that he was being politely asked to move along, perhaps because the man was worried about saying something he should not about Otto's situation.</p><p>"Yes. Two meals, if you please," Lucifer said with a smile.</p><p> </p><p>
  <strong>x=x=X=x=x</strong>
</p><p> </p><p>The lamp on the nightstand was lit, casting much of the cozy room in a yellowish light.</p><p>Unsurprisingly, Lucifer found Kiah on her bed with her lower half beneath the covers, looking like she had barely moved all day. Her eyes latched onto him and the bowls he carried as he drew closer, and her belly growled loudly.</p><p>Guilt ate at him having left her here without anything to eat all day. "How are you feeling today?" he asked, offering her one of the bowls and setting the other on the nearby nightstand.</p><p>She shrugged, careful not to spill any of the stew on herself. "Okay, I guess…"</p><p>Lucifer took a seat on his bed and watched her eat. The stew was hot enough that she couldn't wolf it down too quickly, but she was doing her best to get it into her belly fast without burning herself.</p><p>"You should move around some more, at least," he said. "Getting rest is important, but so is keeping active."</p><p>"I stood by the window," she informed him after swallowing a mouthful of stew, glancing in his direction before returning her attention to her bowl.</p><p>"I suppose that counts," he said. At least she was moving around even a little. "Any particular reason?"</p><p>She thought for a moment, already almost halfway through her meal. "I wanted to see."</p><p>"See what?"</p><p>"Everything," she said simply, then her mouth was filled with more stew.</p><p>"Didn't you see everything when we went out together before?"</p><p>She shook her head. "Yes, I saw a lot… but also… not really," she paused. "It's different when I look from here. From the window… nobody can see me, but I can see them."</p><p>"Ah." Lucifer stood and stepped up to the window himself, peering out at the view, which consisted of the street below, the buildings across, and the mouths of a few alleys. "See anything interesting?"</p><p>"Not really," she said, brow furrowing a little. Her bowl was nearing empty.</p><p>"Have you ever considered going out on your own?"</p><p>"No," she was quick to say, but then she bit her lip and shrugged. "Yes," she said, much softer. "Sorry."</p><p>He glanced at her. "No need to apologize," he said reassuringly, "There's nothing wrong with thinking that. You must remember that you're no longer a slave, Kiah. That means you are free to go wherever and do whatever you want… within reason, of course."</p><p>She paused in her eating, digesting more than just the stew.</p><p>Lucifer continued, "If you want to leave the room and walk around the inn, you can. If you want to walk the streets of the city, go for it, though I recommend you don't stray too far from the inn. And if you even want to leave the city and travel far, I won't stop you. But I strongly recommend you wait until you are fully recovered before doing any serious traveling, and that you tell me before you go so that I can help you properly prepare for your journey."</p><p>Kiah slowly shook her head but said nothing else, leaving him wondering what the gesture meant. She continued to devour the last remnants of her stew while Lucifer alternated between looking outside and stealing glances at the elf, wondering what she was thinking. She was certainly a little livelier today than she had been previously, which he took to be a good sign.</p><p>"This stew is good. Better than before," she finally spoke again, resting the empty bowl on her lap and licking her lips.</p><p>Lucifer smiled. "Is it? I'll be sure to tell Karlan. He'll probably be happy to know how much you liked it." Even Otto would probably admit to his cousin's cooking being better.</p><p>"Karlan?" she cocked her head to the side, looking lost.</p><p>"Otto's cousin. A City Guardsman most days, but he's taken over innkeeping duties temporarily until tomorrow while Otto is away," he explained quickly. "I noticed that he put a few more ingredients into the stew than Otto normally does, so that's probably why it tastes better."</p><p>If Lucifer had to guess, the guardsman had bought some extra ingredients with his own money to use in the stew. A small enough gesture that Otto couldn't possibly get too angry about. Perhaps even the kitchen stocks were all replenished too, with the reason being that Karlan needed it well-stocked to run the inn while Otto was away. The innkeeper probably did not really argue with that either.</p><p>Kiah rubbed the edges of the empty bowl with her thumbs, and Lucifer gestured towards the other one resting on the nightstand.</p><p>"Go ahead," he said encouragingly. "Eat some more. I'm sure you're still hungry."</p><p>She did not hesitate to swap out her empty bowl, already getting used to eating both helpings of whatever food he brought up from the innkeeper. When she was finished a short while later, she stacked both bowls on top of each other on the nightstand.</p><p>"Thank you," she said, gently wiping her mouth with the silk navy and gold handkerchief he had given her before.</p><p>Lucifer, staring back out the window, watched as a couple of drunkards stumbled about on the street below, both too drunk to really help the other walk straight, and yet they still tried.</p><p>"I'm sorry I got back so late," he said, "You must have been starving."</p><p>"It's okay," she replied quickly, looking ashamed. She clutched at the handkerchief in her lap.</p><p>"The job took longer than expected… and other things came up." Like his sudden desire to finally do some testing.</p><p>She reached up and tucked some strands of hair behind one of her pointed ears. "Did it… go well?" Her hand lingered by her ear, where she gently rubbed the tip between her fingers.</p><p>"The job? I'd say so," he replied. "We got it done and made the client happy. Earned a little extra for our efforts too. It was rather… disgusting though. You ever see giant rats before?"</p><p>Her hand returned to her lap as she nodded. "Sometimes we would find a few of them at the… at the farm." Her lips formed a slight frown.</p><p>"Then you'd probably understand," he said, "There were dozens of them. Large as cats, with sharp claws and teeth. And there was a whole nest of the filthy creatures beneath the client's warehouse. It was, as Julia said, super gross."</p><p>Kiah shuddered at the thought, then she glanced furtively at Lucifer who was staring out the window again. "How is… Julia?"</p><p>"She's a bit scratched up, but she'll be fine," he told her, "She was talking about you, you know."</p><p>Kiah's eyes widened. "Sh-She was?"</p><p>"Yep. She was wondering why you weren't partied up with us since she thinks you have healing magic. It's useful for someone to have that skillset in the party, and right now we don't."</p><p>The elf frowned. "But I don't have healing magic."</p><p>"I know," said Lucifer with a sigh, "And I'm sorry I lied to her about that. It was the only thing I could come up with on short notice. I'd rather not reveal the extent of my powers to anyone just yet. You know that." He had explained the situation to her once Julia left after being rescued, and the elf seemed to understand.</p><p>Kiah's stomach rumbled again, though this time it was because of all the food that currently filled it. Maybe she had eaten a little too fast.</p><p>"By the way," Lucifer said, "If you're hungry during the day you can go on your own downstairs to ask Otto for your meals. You need not wait for me." He spoke softly so as not to make it seem like he was lecturing her or anything. "You remember Otto, right? He's nice, in spite of his intimidatingly large stature."</p><p>She nodded. "I remember."</p><p>"Right now, the jobs I'm taking at the Guild… they seem easy enough that they can be done within a day, as long as we set out early enough. But I'm sure there will be plenty of jobs in the future that will take longer than that, not to mention other things that I might be doing, and I don't want you to starve to death waiting for me to come back. Okay?"</p><p>Of course, Lucifer could always use Gate or Teleport to return quickly to make sure the elf was fed, but he did not want her to rely on him completely to survive. That would not be ideal. He preferred not to have to babysit the elf for too long.</p><p>Kiah shifted on her bed, pulling her legs up to her chest and hugging them. "Lucifer. Can I… ask you a question?"</p><p>"You already have," he teased, grinning.</p><p>The elf did not smile. Her gaze remained fixated at the foot of her bed, and he saw that whatever she wanted to ask was important to her. He sat back down on the edge of his bed and waited patiently.</p><p>With a deep breath, Kiah said, "Can you teach me healing magic?"</p><p> </p><p>
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</p><p> </p><p>Halfway across the city, Janna was applying another batch of healing salve to her sister's wounds. The salve felt cool and sticky on her fingers as she gently massaged it along numerous cuts and scrapes. It had an earthy smell to it, with a bit of sharpness that resembled mint, she thought.</p><p>Julia lay on her back, slightly damp and completely naked with nothing but a towel wrapped around her head and her eyes closed as if she were already asleep. Her breaths came in smooth, regular intervals, broken only by the occasional hiss that escaped her lips as her wounds stung from the fresh application of the salve.</p><p>For the most part, her sister was relaxed. Most people would be after spending several hours in a hot bath, the water bordering on cold by the time she stepped out of it.</p><p>"I think I got a few splinters from that stupid tub," Julia had complained when she got out. "Ugh! And I'm all pruney!"</p><p>Their bathroom was more like a closet stuffed with bathroom essentials, like a toilet, sink, and bathtub. And the bathtub in question was barely larger than two barrels put side-by-side and was made entirely of wood. Not a good kind of wood either. It was the cheapest wood their father could find that was good enough to be water-tight and, at least initially, water-resistant too. But they all agreed it was better than nothing, because without one they would have been forced to go to the public bath a few blocks away every time they wanted to wash themselves.</p><p>The girls shared a tiny room only big enough for a thin nightstand next to a rickety old bed pushed into one corner, a dresser tilting to one side by the foot of the bed, and beside that was a small desk with a cracked vanity mirror and a creaky chair. A boarded-up window was on the wall next to the bed with a hammer resting on the sill.</p><p>Their parents might have said something about how dangerous it was to leave the tool where it might fall on them in their sleep, but they rarely saw their parents these days. And with the hammer right there, it was easier for them to take a few of the boards out whenever they fancied a look out into the world from their bedroom, or if they wanted to get some fresh air. Especially in the hot summer months when the room got incredibly stuffy.</p><p>Janna was just finishing up when her eyes felt suddenly drawn to the rhythmic rise and fall of her sister's bare chest. Even though they were not actually twins, being a year apart, Janna was not blind to how similar they looked to each other. Their close physical similarities made it difficult not to compare herself to her sister, and in this particular comparison the differences between them were quite pronounced.</p><p>Julia was developing well enough along, maybe enough to be called perky, whereas Janna barely had anything to speak of. She absently clutched at the shirt over her chest, because unlike her sister she actually put something on after her turn at the bath, and she wondered if she would be like her sister a year from now. Would a year really make that much of a difference?</p><p>She looked down at her own flat chest and then glanced back at her sister's, biting her lip. Julia's were filled out enough to grab some of. Curiosity got the better of her and she found herself reaching a hand over to them, hoping to get a feel for what it was like to actually have breasts.</p><p>It was alright if she touched them a little, she thought. They were sisters. It was not like they had not felt each other up a little before, and they saw each other naked all the time, but when she was an inch away from touching them, Julia suddenly stirred, and Janna drew back her hand so fast she nearly fell off the bed.</p><p>"Mmm… you done, Jan?" said the older girl sleepily.</p><p>Heart beating loudly in her chest and heat filling her cheeks, Janna blinked and looked away as Julia arched her back and stretched.</p><p>"Y-Yeah," Janna managed to reply, "All done."</p><p>"Good… I was practically asleep already," she said, yawning and then blearily opening her eyes to look at Janna. "You okay?"</p><p>Janna nodded. "I-I'm fine."</p><p>"Mmmkay…" Julia unwrapped the towel from her head and threw it somewhere onto the floor, then she sat up long enough to slide herself underneath the thinning sheets. "You should get some sleep, sis." She took a deep breath, then let it out slowly. "Don't forget we told Lucifer we'd meet him early in the morning." She yawned again and then fell silent save for the steady sound of her soft breaths.</p><p>"I didn't forget," said Janna as she slid off the bed and gathered the bandages and the jar of healing salve to put away in her pack. She also took the time to fold her sister's towel and drape it over the back of the desk chair so as to get it off the floor.</p><p>When she returned to the bed, Janna turned off the magic lamp on the nightstand and got under the covers with practiced ease despite the sudden darkness. She was usually the last one to bed.</p><p>"Good night, Julia," Janna whispered, turning towards her sister.</p><p>"Mm… night…" came the mumbled reply, then Janna closed her eyes and found herself quickly falling asleep.</p><p> </p><p>
  <strong>x=x=X=x=x</strong>
</p><p> </p><p>Sergeant Tara Shemp walked along the top of the wall, hands behind her back as she did her nightly rounds. She nodded every now and again to the men and women under her command who stood guard. Sometimes she exchanged a few words or listened to a story or two, but for the most part she walked quietly through the night.</p><p>The cemetery had been largely peaceful since the last Guild Exam, with only a few shambling skeletons that were easily dispatched. A lot of negative energy had been used up that night, and it was nice to not have to worry so much about the undead. At least for a little while. If only there was a way to permanently get rid of the negative energy buildup. A shame that the Temple could not come up with anything for that purpose.</p><p>Later, she was nearing the end of her rounds and was deep in thought about ordering some new equipment for the guards under her command when one of the guards in question came running up behind her, sweating and out of breath.</p><p>"What's happened? Explain yourself," she demanded, annoyed that her mostly quiet night of peaceful thinking was suddenly interrupted. All manner of potential incidents crossed her mind, each one more troublesome than the last. She hoped it was nothing too serious. At the very least, it did not sound like there was any fighting in the vicinity, but maybe the trouble was far enough away that she could not hear it.</p><p>"Sorry, sergeant," said the guard, doubled over from his exertion. "There are serious-looking people from the Temple here to see you." He paused, gasping, "They said it's urgent, and when I mentioned you were out for your evening rounds, they told me that it couldn't wait and to fetch you immediately."</p><p>"Did they now?" She arched an eyebrow at him. It was unlike the Temple to be so pushy, especially with the City Guard. They usually kept to themselves and, if necessary, operated with patience and respect when it came to working with the City Guard. <em>It must be something serious after all</em>, she thought.</p><p>"Sorry, sergeant," he repeated, "They wouldn't take no for an answer. And I… I didn't know what else to do. They looked like they were on serious business."</p><p>Taking a deep breath, she nodded. "You're alright. Let's go see what it is they want so badly that they're out here bothering me about it at such a late hour."</p><p>Meanwhile, east of the city, Sir Kenrick Black was settling in for the night when he heard the thudding of galloping horses and the sounds of men shouting coming from the courtyard out front.</p><p>Panicking and wondering if the golden-eyed stranger and his companions had decided to come back and finish the job after all, he scrambled into his armor and managed to buckle his belt by the time the butler knocked urgently on his door.</p><p>"What is it?" he growled as the butler bowed from the doorway. "Are we under attack?"</p><p>"No, sir. It was a messenger who arrived bringing urgent news. One of the men stationed in the western fields."</p><p>Breathing hard, Sir Black scowled. "Well? What's the message? Spit it out, man!" He reached for his sword and began buckling it around his waist.</p><p>"Sire, there are apparently people from the Temple questioning guards, slaves, and farmers. Rousing them from their sleep, even."</p><p>"The Temple?!" Black exclaimed in bewilderment. "Questioning them about what?"</p><p>"He doesn't know, sire. He says that he left as soon as he saw what was happening."</p><p>"Useless," grumbled the knight, shaking his head. "Get my horse ready," he snapped with a glare, and the butler swiftly bowed and left.</p><p>Sir Black was at a loss as he continued to ready himself at a less frantic pace now that he knew they were not under immediate attack. What in the world was the Temple doing questioning their people this late at night?</p>
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